The Far Side
by Legendgrass
Summary: My take on Storm Hawks season three. The Hawks have discovered that the Far Side isn't so unlike home, but it does house its own dark threats. Cyclonis is loose and causing trouble, new problems are arising, and the Storm Hawks are being their usual heroic selves.
1. The Far Side of Atmos

The Condor emerged from the portal into the dark sky of the Far Side, its entire crew minus Stork standing amazed outside the hangar. They stared out at the strange land, a mountainous green-tinted place, with a single light-giving tower at the center and a black river flowing through the valley below them.

Finn whistled in awe. "Duuude..."

Then a shrill, foreign cry echoed from above, and the Storm Hawks looked up to see what looked like a dragon circling above them. Many more of its kind flew here and there over the city. The city-that's what Piper guessed it was, at least. The central tower looming ahead reminded her of the Beacon Tower on Terra Atmosia, and the spread of lights over the spires of rock the dwellings beyond. She glanced at Aerrow, who looked starstruck by it all.

"This is going to be fun," he declared, and gave her a smile. She returned it in agreement, and the team exchanged amazed looks.

They all stood a moment longer, gazing out over the strange city, until Stork's nervous voice came through the Condor's intercom. "Guys," he said, a warning edge to his words, "you may want to see this."

Immediately Aerrow tore his gaze from the landscape and nodded to the others, and the Storm Hawks rushed inside to the Condor's bridge.

There they found Stork at the helm as usual, bent over the navigational controls and tapping a dial with one slender green finger.

He turned and straightened slightly as they approached. "Navigational controls aren't responding," he told them. "We still have the Timepulse-" he pointed to the glass ball, its rings still turning, "-but something is different here. Can't get a bearing. You know what that means?" He wrung his hands, waited for an answer.

Junko raised a finger, "Um, something bad?" he ventured.

Stork gestured wildly and cried, "Certain doom! If we get lost here, we'll never find our way back. We'll fly in circles until we die horrible, boring deaths!"

Aerrow shook his head and held up a calming hand. "Stork, calm down. We're not going to get lost. We'll figure something out. We have the best navigator in the Atmos, remember?" he said, resting a hand on Piper's shoulder.

Stork sighed shakily and grunted, still unconvinced. Aerrow continued, "For now, find a safe place to stop. We need to do some serious recon before we go looking for Cyclonis."

Stork nodded and gripped the helm, then took the ship down some and toward the rocky outcroppings that lined the valley floor.

Aerrow turned to the rest of the team.

"Piper, you stay here with Stork. Try and figure out our location, chart some maps, anything that will help us get an idea of what's here. Junko, you and Radarr fix up the Condor, get her back in top shape. Finn, you're with me. We'll take our Skimmers and see what's out there." He jerked a thumb out the window. "Good luck, everyone."

His team gave him a nod, and they split up.

"Be careful," Piper called as Aerrow and Finn headed for the door.

Aerrow grinned. "When are we ever not careful?" he said, and Finn gave Piper a wink.

She sighed in mock annoyance as the door shut behind them, then turned to the maps spread over the table.

...

Radarr and Junko separated and headed to opposite ends of the ship. They started repairs there and worked inwards, patching pipes, hammering out dents in the bulkheads, and screwing in loose bolts. Soon the Condor looked as good as new, and the two Storm Hawks high-fived each other and headed back to the bridge.

...

Stork stayed at the helm until the Condor had anchored under a rocky overhang, then he joined Piper at the center table. She was bent over her maps, cross-referencing, looking out the windows at the land around them, taking notes and drawing lines.

As Stork came to stand next to her she straightened and cried, "This is impossible! There are next to no existing maps of the Far Side, the normal ones of Atmos are no help, and that-" she gestured out the window, "-tells me nothing!" She buried her face in her hands. "What are we supposed to do?"

Stork started to say something, then thought better of it. He wanted to comfort her, or something, but didn't know what to do. He finally just shrugged. "Accept our imminent demise?" he suggested.

To his surprise, Piper laughed. She shook her head, perched on the edge of the table and crossed her arms. He wasn't sure what had been funny, but flashed a nervous smile anyway.

Then the door slid open, and Junko and Radarr entered.

"That was fast," Piper commented, a bit incredulously.

Junko shrugged, "This new Condor is a little more sturdy than the original. She didn't take much damage," he explained.

Stork nodded proudly.

"How's the navigation...uh, stuff...going?" Junko asked.

Piper scowled. "Terrible," she said. "I don't have any maps of this place-I don't think there even are any-so I have no idea where we're going or what to expect."

Junko frowned. "You can't just make a map?" he inquired.

She shook her head. "All I can see is that...city place. We'd have to be far above this whole place to map it," she explained.

"Can't Stork take us up there?" Junko asked then.

Everyone looked at Stork, who shrank away, wringing his hands. "I'd really rather not. We don't know what could be up there. Maybe it's dragons. Or Vulcabats. Or giant man-eating hummingbirds!" he cried, eye twitching.

Piper raised an eyebrow. "Man-eating hummingbirds," she echoed. "Really?"

Junko snickered behind his hand.

Stork looked indignant. "You never know. This is, after all...the Far Side." His voice dropped to a fearful whisper.

Piper sighed. "Fine. I'll wait till Aerrow gets back, but I'm going to chart a map of this place one way or another." She sat on the table with a huff, and Stork smirked triumphantly.

Junko scratched his head and went to the window. He gasped suddenly and warned, "Guys? Uh, you need to see this."

...

Aerrow and Finn were flying parallel each other, some distance apart, scanning the area. The Condor was in view far behind them so that they wouldn't get lost, and they were nearing the dark spire of a tower they'd seen when they arrived. It was even grander up close.

The tower loomed over the land around it, a massive pillar of stone that looked as if it had naturally thrust up from the earth. Lit windows lined its circumference all the way up, and at its center a bright, steady light washed its surroundings in a green glow. Stone bridges connected the tower to the smaller structures around it, which looked like little models of the tower itself, and the whole arrangement was standing on a tilting table of rock that led from the valley like a spiral staircase.

Aerrow and Finn circled the tower once, looking out over the rest of the landscape. Around the tower were huge claw-shaped outcroppings of stone, with small lit structures built into their sides. Almost as far as the eye could see there was nothing but mountains and waterways. At the horizon on all sides, however, they could see a line of darkness where the mountains stopped. Aerrow sighed in relief.

"So, this is a terra," he called, "This is a city, beyond that is just mountains, and then it's the edge of the terra."

Finn nodded, shouted back, "Yeah, man, looks like it."

Aerrow smiled to himself. This place wasn't so different from their side of the Atmos, it seemed. Well, in the big picture at least. Then he frowned. He gunned the accelerator on his Skimmer, pulled up next to Finn, and said,

"If this is a terra, this place isn't so different from Atmosia, right?"

Finn nodded, "Yeah."

Aerrow continued, "That means there are any number of other terras we don't know about. Hundreds of places we don't know about, but Cyclonis probably does. She could be anywhere!" he was becoming more anxious by the second.

Finn slapped his forehead with one hand. "Aw, man…" he groaned.

Aerrow set his jaw and pulled his Skimmer up, then set off back toward the Condor. This was not good news.

Finn followed in his wake, moodily thinking of all the time that could've been spent on vacation, now as good as gone. Aerrow suddenly pulled to a halt, and Finn barely missed crashing into his tail.

He would've been irritated if he, too, hadn't seen what was before them.

...

Piper and Stork, Radarr close behind, rushed to Junko's side at the window. Piper's hand went to cover her mouth, and Stork whimpered.

Flooding up from the mountains below was a dark cloud, a mass of winged creatures flying as one, headed for the Condor. An ear-splitting shriek pierced the air, and the Storm Hawks' hands flew to cover their ears.

The cloud of beasts were nearing rapidly, and as they approached they came into view not as one, but as a thousand Radarr-sized bat creatures complete with evil red eyes.

Stork stammered, "V-vulcabat hybrids?!"

"Somehow these ones look even meaner than the ones back home!" Piper cried.

Junko straightened up and activated his knuckle busters. "They don't look friendly," he agreed grimly, and ran from the room. Piper grabbed her staff from the wall and followed.

Stork and Radarr exchanged a glance, and then Radarr chirped determinedly and followed. Stork, left alone, let out a squeak as he stared out the window at the approaching beasts.

...

"Uh...are those Vulcabats?" Finn asked.

Aerrow grunted, "I don't know. We've got to keep them away from the Condor, whatever they are."

Finn smiled and loaded a bolt into his Skimmer's blaster. "Don't worry. We've got me on our side," he said.

Aerrow's Skimmer shot forward, its rider drawing his blades and activating them. He leaped from his seat onto the wings, daggers glowing blue, and shot a pair of energy blasts into the midst of the bat-cloud. The red-eyed creatures shrieked once more and scattered, a few of them falling from the sky and out of view, and then regrouped angrier than ever.

As Aerrow growled in determination and gripped his blades tighter, Junko and Piper's rides emerged from the Condor, their occupants armed and ready for a fight.

Junko flew straight into the cloud of bats, swinging his glowing fists and shouting, and Piper kept her distance and fired crystal-powered bursts of energy, Radarr on her shoulder shaking his fist. From behind, Finn fired an arrow that flew into the flock and exploded, then he let out a triumphant whoop. Another group of long-fanged bats went down.

Aerrow sent his own shots into the cloud, guiding his Skimmer with his feet, threading between bats and swinging his blades with deadly accuracy.

Before long, against the might of the Storm Hawks the bats gave up and scattered, diving down into the safety of the rocky crags below. Aerrow dropped back into his seat, and he and Finn joined the others and they flew into the hangar.

Each Storm Hawk parked their Skimmer, and then Aerrow addressed everyone, "We've got some news to share, but I'll wait till we reach the bridge. Everyone okay? No injuries?"

Junko raised a hand. "Um...I think I chipped a tooth."

Everyone looked horrified. They remembered what had happened last time Junko had dental issues.

Then he smiled, "Just kidding."

Aerrow sighed in relief and rolled his eyes. "Any actual injuries?" He looked around and was met by silence. "Good," he said with a nod, and left the hangar.

The team followed, and they wound their way down the halls toward the bridge. On the way, Piper hurried to catch up with Aerrow. She spoke, "Um, hey, you know the, uh, maps? There aren't any. Not of this place. And I can't make any either, 'cause Stork wouldn't fly up high enough to chart anything, and I'm really sorry, but we still have nothing and it's my fault. I'm useless here! Come on, a navigator in a place where navigation is impossible? I mean, if I had more time, maybe-"

"Piper," Aerrow cut in, "don't worry about it."

Piper was silent for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry. This whole thing is making me kind of anxious." She hugged herself.

Aerrow noticed the rest of the team had dropped behind some to let them talk. He said, "It's making us all anxious."

Another second, then they arrived on the bridge. Stork, who'd been at he helm staring out the window, whirled around, a spray can raised threateningly. He dropped his hand when he recognized them and explained, "Vulcabat repellent. Best to always be ready."

Aerrow nodded. "Uh, yeah. Right."

He stepped up to the center table then, the others following suit, and said, "First of all, there's a bit of a problem-"

Stork cut in, "Did you mean the evil fanged bats, or the fact that Master Cyclonis is loose, or maybe that this entire place is actually the back of a giant sleeping Sky Serpent? Or was it something else?"

Aerrow frowned at him. Stork slumped, "Sorry. This place is getting to me. Continue." He waved one hand, and Aerrow nodded and went on,

"As I was saying, we have a problem. This place-" he gestured out the window, "-is a terra. That means there must be others. A lot of others..."

"And Cyclonis could be on any one of them!" Piper realized. She raised her hands to her face and shook her head. "This is bad. This is very bad," she almost whimpered.

Finn patted her shoulder. "Don't sweat it. At least we've still got me." He pointed to himself, grinning.

Junko ignored him and clarified, "So while we're looking for her, she could be hatching evil plans and building an army of bat things on some terra we don't even know about?"

Aerrow nodded. "Exactly."

Junko nodded in understanding.

There was a silence, and then Finn asked the question on everyone's mind, "So what do we do?"

Aerrow sighed and scratched his head. "Well, first let's go over what we already know. Cyclonis came through the same portal as us, so she was here not long ago. She couldn't have gotten very far."

Piper raised a finger, "Unless she had a Warp Crystal or a really powerful Teleportation Crystal."

Aerrow nodded. "Right."

"Well, since that narrowed down our choices so very much..." Stork muttered.

Aerrow ignored him and went on, "What else?"

Piper ventured, "Well, knowing Master Cyclonis, I'd say she probably had a pretty solid contingency plan, so she most likely has a small army here somewhere."

Aerrow nodded again. "Probably. What about this place itself? It has technology better than ours, terras similar to ours-"

"And evil bats," Junko added.

"-That too."

Piper said then, "People must live here, obviously-" she gestured at the tower, "-and, oh, the Endless Tunnels reach here, too. They may be useful for travel in a pinch."

"But aren't they sealed?" Finn asked.

Piper shrugged, "The entrance we know of is sealed on the Atmosian side. There may be some still usable." she said.

Aerrow replied, "Ah, yeah, I'd rather stay away from the Tunnels."

Stork nodded, eye twitching, "I agree. Too many ways to die horrendous deaths. Sharks, underwater volcanoes, falling rocks, mutant guppies, sky eels..." He rattled off several more, counting on his fingers, until Piper cut him off,

"Anyway! We don't have much to go off of here. I think our best bet would be to land, ask around, see if anyone's seen a psycho with a spiky hood and too much eyeliner. What do you guys think?"

Finn snickered at Piper's comment, and Aerrow said with a smile,"I think you're right, as usual. Stork, you stay here. Be ready to fly if there's any sign of danger. The rest of us will take our Skimmers down and see what's up."

Stork nodded and gladly returned to his post at the helm. The rest of the team went down to the hangar bay, mounted their bikes, and left the ship.


	2. Follow Those Cyclonians!

The Storm Hawks, Aerrow in the lead, flew down to the surface and landed at the base of one of the curving mountains. They brought their bikes to a halt amid the brightly lit buildings between the mountain and the dark river. A few people wandered among the stone structures, attending to their daily tasks, dressed in outfits not unlike the Storm Hawks' uniforms minus the patchwork quality.

Aerrow climbed off his Skimmer and called to one of them, "Uh, excuse me! Can I ask you a couple questions?"

The girl he'd addressed began to hurry away, looking scared.

"This is important— hey, wait, no, we're not going to—! Gahh." Aerrow sighed, and Piper stepped past him. "Maybe I should try," she said.

A gray-haired man with a moustache was passing by, carrying a container full of river water, and she called to him, "Sir? Um, I'm looking for a friend of mine—"

"Nobody here's got friends," the man interrupted sourly. "Go bother someone else."

He started to walk away, and, irritated, Piper followed him, ignoring Aerrow's cautioning hand on her arm.

She stepped in front of the moustachioed man and said, "We're hunting down a criminal. She's about this tall, wearing a cape and a hood, carries around a crystal staff— can't miss her. Where is she?"

The man looked suddenly fearful. He glanced around nervously, then turned and ran from her, leaving his water bucket behind.

Piper was bemused, gave Aerrow a questioning look over her shoulder. When she turned back, a group of armed Cyclonians detached themselves from the shadows and converged on them. Piper gave a startled yelp, stepped back and fell in next to her teammates, who'd drawn their weapons. Her staff was with her heliscooter, so she settled into a fighting stance instead.

"I thought we'd seen the last of these guys," Finn grumbled.

Aerrow sighed. "Me too. I guess this is part of that small army you mentioned, Piper."

The Cyclonians laughed and surrounded them, crystal-tipped staffs raised threateningly.

Then Aerrow gave a nod.

The Storm Hawks leaped into action, each member taking out a pair of guards without much trouble, and then kicked away their staffs. Aerrow crouched in front of the first soldier, a skinny blond man with a goatee, and demanded, "Where's Cyclonis?"

The man laughed. Aerrow held his dagger up to the Cyclonian's neck, and he quieted immediately and sheepishly cleared his throat. Aerrow asked again, "Where is Master Cyclonis?"

Finn stepped up behind him, crossbow leveled threateningly.

The man sighed. "I don't know," he said forlornly. "We're never told her plans, we're just the lackeys that do the dirty work."

Finn laughed, "You've got that right."

The Cyclonian shot him a glare. Aerrow didn't seem convinced, but stood and sheathed his daggers. Not turning around, he said to the goateed man, "When you report back to your Master, tell her the Storm Hawks are coming for her. I'm not letting Cyclonis escape this time." He looked up at his team, "We're going to bring her to justice once and for all."

One of the Cyclonians cleared his throat and said hesitantly, "Um...Sky Knight?" Aerrow turned. A shaggy-haired young man had spoken, and now continued, "Master Cyclonis is not a criminal."

When Piper scowled and Junko looked confused, he flinched but went on, "She did inherit the leadership of the Cyclonian Empire. She's kept it running since she was a child. By force, yes, but still, I believe she thinks she's doing the right thing."

Aerrow looked a little pained. There descended a long silence. "She's responsible for the suffering of many, either way, and I don't intend to let her keep doing it," Aerrow finally said.

The man stayed silent. A few of his comrades shot him disapproving glares, but the Storm Hawks were a little surprised. A Talon who was capable of thinking rationally? Who would've guessed? Aerrow looked back at his team.

"What should we do with them?" Junko asked, knuckle busters powering down.

Aerrow considered this a moment. He voiced a few options aloud, just to scare the cowardly Cyclonians; "We could throw them off the edge of the terra...or let Stork test his new invention on them...or maybe hang them upside down from the Condor's landing gears..."

Finn and Junko began to snicker at the soldiers' horrified expressions.

Piper frowned. "Aerrow, stop it," she scolded. He gave her a teasing glance, and she rolled her eyes even though a smile was threatening to show.

Aerrow looked back at the Cyclonians. "I guess I'll let you go, as long as you report directly back to your leader. If not...there's always the landing gear option," he said.

The men all gave him earnest nods, glad to be out of danger. Aerrow crossed his arms and watched as they scurried to their feet and ran to their rides like so many scared rabbits, shaking his head.

"These guys; the elite forces of Cyclonia?" he said.

Finn snickered. "More like elite losers."

Then Piper came up beside Aerrow. "Good plan;" she complimented. "Scare them back to Cyclonis so we can follow them straight to her."

Aerrow scratched his head. "Yeah. The problem is, if he was telling the truth and they really don't know Cyclonis' location, we'll be heading straight into the arms of whoever's in charge of her forces now, with nothing to show for it."

Piper sighed and stared at the ground for a moment, thinking. "Even if Cyclonis isn't there, there has to be someone who knows where she is," she said finally.

"I guess you're right." Aerrow shrugged.

She smiled and replied, "As usual."

Aerrow laughed and went on, "Besides, what other option do we have? We have no navigation. We'd never track her down alone."

"I know." Piper nodded in agreement.

Junko called, "They're leaving!"

At that Storm Hawks ran to their own bikes, gunning the engines and taking flight, wanting to keep the Cyclonians in view.

They returned to the Condor, which Stork had detached from its anchor and positioned for flight. As soon as they entered the hangar Aerrow leaped from his ride and raced to the bridge, where he shouted to Stork, "Follow those Cyconians!" The Merb nodded once and jerked the helm with a grunt, the ship responding flawlessly, and fired the engines.

The Condor started forward with a lurch and Stork guided it after the Talons at a distance. The rest of the team arrived on the bridge then and took up various positions around the room, watching through the window. Radarr leaped up onto Aerrow's shoulder and received a pat on the head in greeting.

Stork said then, "Mind filling me in?"

Aerrow replied, "We asked a guy if he'd seen anyone who looked like Cyclonis—"

"—he ran away, and a gang of Cyclonians ambushed us—" Piper continued.

"—we kicked their butts—" Finn grinned.

"—and we're going to follow them to her." Junko finished.

Stork looked over his shoulder at them, eyebrow raised. "Did you guys rehearse that?" he asked sarcastically.

Junko shook his head, looking proud of himself, and Stork rolled his eyes and turned back to the window with a sigh.

Piper spoke again, "The problem is, the Talons may not be leading us to Master Cyclonis. They claimed they didn't know where she is, and I really doubt the Talons are capable of lying under pressure, so they're probably telling the truth."

Stork nodded. "Perfect. So we could be flying straight into a trap right now and not even be remotely close to finding Master Cyclonis?"

"You got it," Finn answered.

Stork slouched even lower than usual and frowned out the window at the approaching mass of land.

They'd left the green-lit city behind several minutes ago, following the Talons' blood-red contrails across dark open sky, and now another terra could be seen ahead of them, twisted and tall as Terra Glockenchime back in Atmosia. As the Condor drew closer its crew lined up along the windows to get a better view of this new land, and the details started coming into view.

The terra seemed to be formed of light stone, and no man-made structures but a white tower graced its surface. The tower stood atop the highest point of stone, a smaller replica of the one in the dark city they'd just left, with its windows unlit but a white light glowing steadily from its center. A trio of the same dragon-creatures from before circled above it like sentries. Below the tower, cave entrances dotted the cliffsides, flickering light spilling from only a handful.

Piper broke the silence on the bridge with a cry. "Those caves must be where the Cyclonians are hiding!"

Even as she spoke, the Talons they'd followed folded in their Switchblades' wings and landed in the largest cave, single file.

Aerrow nodded in agreement, gripped the railing and ordered, "Stork, take us down somewhere they won't see us."

Stork nodded and twisted the helm, brought the ship down low and circled around back of the tower. He pulled a lever, let down the landing gears and cut the engine, and the Condor settled onto a shelf of white rock high above the surface level. They were parked completely out of view of anyone in the caves.

Aerrow clapped Stork on the shoulder. "Nice work."

The helmsman shrank away, but laughed nervously and said, "Thanks."

Aerrow then turned to the rest of the team and addressed them, "This is going to be a stealth mission. I need to get in, find out where Cyclonis is, and get out as quickly and quietly as possible. I need you guys to stay here, keep hidden, and be ready to fly just in case something happens. Got it?"

Stork and Finn nodded gladly.

Radarr clung to Aerrow's shoulder and chirped, Junko looked a little worried, and Piper opened her mouth immediately to protest, "You can't go alone! This is too dangerous. You need someone to watch your back."

Aerrow shook his head. "I have to. That way even if I get caught, you guys can keep going."

Junko spoke up, "Uh, Aerrow, she's right. You have no idea what to expect in there. You should take a partner." He scratched his head, and Aerrow frowned.

Even Finn agreed, "Yeah, man, you should take some backup. You never know when you might need to kick some extra tail."

"I don't want to get you guys into trouble," Aerrow protested.

This earned a humorless laugh from Stork. "Too late."

Piper crossed her arms and gave Aerrow a hard look. The others all stood expectantly.

Finally Aerrow sighed and gave in. "Fine. Piper, you're with me. Let's go."

Piper broke into a smile. Junko and Finn high-fived each other.

Radarr chirped in Aerrow's ear as if to say, "What about me?" Aerrow gave him a pat on the head. "You're staying here too, buddy. Sorry. You attract too much attention." Radarr barked indignantly.

Stork commented, "So does Piper. It's not every day you see a female Cyclonian wandering around. There are, what, two, in existence?"

Aerrow shook his head. "That's different."

"It's your horrible doom." Stork shrugged.

Aerrow sighed and turned to leave.

"Good luck, guys!" Junko called, waving.

Piper led the way out the door, and she and Aerrow headed to the hangar. There Piper stepped onto her heliscooter and sighed, "I hope you know what you're doing, Aerrow."

He climbed onto his bike. "Trust me."


	3. Infiltration

Piper and Aerrow rode down the boarding ramp to the ground and accelerated down the sloping cliff, winding around the tower to the surface.

At this level the cave-pocked cliff began, completely smooth and pale save for the cave openings and the ledges that granted access to them. Here Aerrow slowed his bike and looked up the cliff, picking out the caves with light shining from them, and then dismounted.

He looked to Piper. "We'll hide our Skimmers and climb from here," he said, and she nodded.

They walked their rides deep into one of the ground-level caves before them and left them there, hidden by darkness and stone, then returned to the cliff face.

"Um...Aerrow? How are we going to climb that? It's perfectly smooth," Piper asked, pointing.

Aerrow only grunted and drew his daggers.

"Oh," she said then, realizing his plan.

Aerrow activated his blades, leaped up against the cliff wall and buried them in the rock. From there he made his way slowly up, climbing using his blades as picks, leaving divots in the rock for Piper's hand- and foot-holds.

This went on, the same process over and over, for quite some time. Aerrow was growing tired fast, pulling himself up again and again through sheer force of will. He wondered when they'd reach the first ledge. Piper wasn't doing much better. Her fingers were tired and sore from gripping shallow grooves in the rock, and her arms were burning from the exertion.

Then, finally, Aerrow reached the first ledge and climbed over, offering his hand to help her up the final few steps. She accepted it gratefully and hauled herself over the edge.

After a moment to rest and catch their breaths, the two Storm Hawks stood and looked up the cliff again. The lit caves were two more tiers above them, an impossibly long distance, it seemed. Aerrow was preparing to start climbing again, reactivating his daggers, when Piper said,

"Hey, wait," Piper said. Do you think these caves connect? We could go in one of these and find our way up to those." She pointed to each cave respectively.

Aerrow stepped back, blades powering down again. "Good idea," he said. "Let's find out."

Piper took an Illumination Stone from the bag at her hip and held it up as a light as she followed him into the closest cave. Inside they walked shoulder to shoulder, through the white-walled tunnel, keeping alert in case of any Cyclonian activity. They walked until the crystal was the only source of light, and then the floor began to slope steeply upward.

Piper missed the step up and tripped, nearly dropping the stone. Aerrow caught her arm and whispered, "Careful." She found her footing again, nodded, and they continued on.

The floor continued to slant upwards until the cave hit a dead end, a solid wall with no sign of a door, or crack, or anything. Piper sighed in despair. Aerrow began to search along the wall for a hidden mechanism, found none, and straightened with a sigh.

"I can't believe it," he said. "All that way, and it's a dead end."

They stood there for a moment, until Aerrow said, "Hey, wait. Feel that?"

Piper was still for another moment, then shook her head. Aerrow pointed upwards. "There's a draft in here. There's air blowing in from somewhere other than the exit."

Piper nodded, now noticing the slight breeze as well. They looked around, felt along the walls, and then Aerrow whispered, "Found it."

Piper held the Illumination Stone up to where he was indicating. High up next to the ceiling, opposite the dead-end wall, was an opening about a foot and a half's width on all sides. Just big enough to crawl through one at a time.

She sighed with relief, and Aerrow said, "You've got the light. You go first, I'll be right behind you." He laced his fingers together and offered her a foothold.

She hesitated. 'I'll be right behind you,' was always what someone would say in films, right before they left their comrade to fend for themselves. But that was crazy. She could always trust Aerrow.

She stepped up, hand on his shoulder for balance, and Aerrow boosted her up to climb into the opening. Once she'd entered, there was no going back. She crawled forward some to give him space, her shoulders pressing against the walls on either side, then whispered, "Can you reach?"

She heard Aerrow reply, "Yeah. Just a second."

There was a silence then.

It stretched on for a moment.

And then another.

And another.

And another.

"Aerrow?" she whispered.

Piper felt panic rise in her chest suddenly. What if he really had left her alone? Maybe Aerrow was running from the cave right now, laughing at her naivety, on his way back to the Condor to let her fall into enemy hands or rot in these dark caves.

"Aerrow!"

Piper was starting to have trouble breathing. She struggled against the stone on all sides, trying to crawl back down the shaft toward the opening, but she only wedged herself more tightly into the space. She calmed her heaving breaths, reminding herself that Aerrow wouldn't leave her.

Right?

Unconsciously she let out a whimper.

She was trapped in here forever!

Alone!

She braced her hands against the walls, fighting against the wave of dizziness that assaulted her. The small space she was crouched in seemed suddenly much smaller and darker. Piper's breathing quickened painfully.

"Aerrow..." she tried again, managing only a whisper.

Then she heard a shuffling behind her, a grunt of effort, and Aerrow joined her in the shaft. She heaved a shaky sigh that turned into a sob, and relief flooded through her.

She wasn't alone. Aerrow hadn't left her.

"I'm here. Are you alright?" he asked, concern lacing his words. He could tell she was quite unsettled.

Piper took a deep breath to calm her sudden emotions, and nodded. "Yeah," she breathed, and began crawling forward.

Aerrow gave her some space to get started and then followed without a word. She could tell he was still worried, and she didn't say anything to convince him otherwise.

They crawled on, the floor beneath them sloping up gently, until the shaft widened and opened into a cave, larger and darker than the one they'd entered through. Piper crawled from the shaft and stood, her knees protesting, and waited for Aerrow to join her.

He did, and they looked around the cave. It was more of a cavern, really, a little bigger than the hangar bay on the Condor, with several tunnels branching from it in different directions. Actual tunnels, tall enough to comfortably stand in.

Red light spilled from the two openings to their right. The two Storm Hawks exchanged a glance, Aerrow held a finger to his lips, and they crept into one of the lit tunnels.

Piper dropped her crystal back into her bag and Aerrow drew his daggers, and they stayed against one wall as they moved forward. As Piper and Aerrow crept closer to the source of the red light, several overlapping male voices echoed through the tunnel. Their words were unintelligible, but the voices grew in volume the closer the Storm Hawks came, and Piper could pick out one familiar voice among the others.

She froze, and Aerrow turned to her, questioning. A second passed, and then he heard it too. His eyebrows rose in disbelief.

Neither of them had ever expected to hear that haughty voice again.

Aerrow and Piper crept closer, finally reaching the other end of the tunnel, and stopped just outside the occupied cave. Aerrow risked a peek into the cave, and he gasped.

The tunnel opened into empty air, far above the ground in a grand cavern that could've held the Condor with room to spare. Weakly glowing red crystals lined the walls like flames, and on the ground Talons wheeled carts of them to and fro across the cavern. The main source of the red light was an enormous crystal, identical to the one Master Cyclonis had brought back, but on a much grander scale. It resembled a huge ruby artichoke, with each layer made of sharp-edged crystal, and gathered around it was a host of Cyclonian Talons flailing at the crystal with pickaxes in a futile attempt to break it.

Aerrow beckoned to Piper, and she joined him at the tunnel exit. She gasped when she laid eyes on the stone, and scowled at the Cyclonians and their savagery.

No crystal with this much power should be treated so carelessly, for a multitude of reasons both ethical and practical, and to see Cyclonians of all people doing such things stirred a deep anger in her. She did realize one thing, however.

"Cyclonis isn't here. If she were, nobody would be going near that thing, much less assaulting it like that." she said to Aerrow.

He nodded and pointed, "Looks like he's the one in charge here."

Piper followed the line of his finger to the man standing on a ledge farther down the cavern wall, hands clasped behind his back importantly, the owner of the voice they'd recognized moments before. Piper's scowl deepened.

"Domiwick," she growled.

The self-absorbed blond had made it through the Endless Tunnels, apparently. Piper would have done just fine never seeing the handsome face of her former idol again. He'd betrayed her trust on more counts than one, and she hadn't forgiven him.

Aerrow nodded. "I guess he's taking orders from Cyclonis now," he said.

Piper grunted. "Let's just scare her location out of him and get away from here. Without a leader they won't be able to cause much more damage," she said, and gestured to the huge mistreated artichoke crystal.

Aerrow agreed. "We need to find a way down there. If the Talons see us we'll be overpowered, so we'll need to find a back way," he said.

Piper clenched her fists. "Can't I just jump down there and knock him around some? He deserves it."

Aerrow faced her. "You mean 'we'. And that isn't an option, even if he does deserve it."

"But it's quicker," Piper protested, "and there isn't a chance of getting lost in here if we go directly."

Aerrow shook his head. "Piper, I know you've got a bone to pick with the guy, but we shouldn't risk being discovered."

She looked as if she wanted to argue some more, but sighed and nodded. "Okay. Lead the way," she said.

Aerrow started to speak, changed his mind, and started back toward the cavern they'd come from. Once there, the two Storm Hawks turned down the second lit tunnel, following its downward slope until it opened into the crystal cavern.

Instead of just ending, a ledge protruded from the opening, and on this ledge stood I.J. Domiwick, his back to them. Piper started to step forward, but Aerrow caught her arm firmly and held her back. He shook his head at her and stepped forward instead, creeping up silently behind Domiwick, one dagger drawn, one hand free.

He planned to grab the man and drag him into the tunnel before anyone noticed, then threaten out of him the information they needed, but before he could act Domiwick chose that moment to turn around and spot Aerrow standing guiltily behind him.


	4. Imprisonment and Escape

Aerrow smiled sheepishly. "Uh...heh heh. Hi," he laughed nervously.

Domiwick snarled, "You! I never thought I'd have to deal with you again!"

Aerrow drew his second dagger and activated them both as Piper stepped out of the shadows. "Sorry to disappoint you," he said sarcastically, and dropped into a fighting stance.

Domiwick clenched his big fists. "Why are you here? Trying to ruin another one of Master Cyclonis' plans?" he demanded.

Piper came to stand beside Aerrow, her arms crossed. "So she's your master now? I never thought I'd hear the great I.J. Domiwick admit to being less than somebody else," she taunted.

Aerrow gave her a sly smile of encouragement that Domiwick missed completely.

"I am nobody's inferior!" the blond man roared. "How dare you mock one of such high esteem as myself!"

"High esteem," Aerrow joined in, "or high self-esteem?"

Domiwick snarled with rage and lunged for the Storm Hawks, who stepped to the sides and watched him fall on his face. I.J. rose, pointed and shouted, "I will not allow you to taunt me so! I am not so weak as to fall to your petty insults!"

Aerrow and Piper exchanged a glance and burst out laughing. "Sorry, Domiwick," said Aerrow, "but it looks like you already have."

The man charged him again and swung a fist that Aerrow dodged with a mile to spare. "You children will not foil Cyclonis again. She has already set a new plan in motion, and you will be defeated long before you get the chance to stop her," he told them.

The Storm Hawks shared a glance. Piper said, "You're wrong. We're going to bring her to justice once and for all. With or without your cooperation."

Aerrow gave her a wondering look. She'd used almost his exact words from before. Piper glanced at him with a warmth in her gaze, then looked back to Domiwick with a cold stare.

He sneered, "My cooperation? And what is that supposed to mean?"

Aerrow raised his blades. "Tell us where she is. Now."

Domiwick laughed, raised his hands and shrugged. Then, "You stupid boy," he said sharply, earning a murderous glare from Piper that Aerrow didn't notice. "I don't know. And, even if I did, I'd have no reason to tell you." He gave them a greasy smile and nodded to someone behind them.

Aerrow whirled. He just had time to see a smirking green-moustached face before he was struck in the head with a metal staff and crumpled, vision going dark.

...

Back on the Condor, chaos reigned.

Junko had just discovered that the only food left on the ship was Stork's emergency supply of Merb cabbage, and he'd flown into a fit of hysteria. Finn was trying to calm him and was— repeatedly —receiving bundles of flying cabbage to the face in return. Radarr clung desperately to Junko's ears, attempting to guide him away from anything important in case the Wallop began smashing things. Stork had donned a pair of earplugs and sat on the bridge unaffected, reading his book of 'Untreatable Afflictions of the Atmos'.

"Dude, there's other food here! There's food you've never even heard of! It's the Far Side, man, just wait till Aerrow and Piper get back and we'll find a burger joint or something," Finn was shouting.

Junko hurled another ball of cabbage, not listening. "Nothing but cabbage! Cabbage! Why cabbage? Why not fried chicken?" he cried.

At this Radarr chirped angrily and yanked on Junko's ears, sending him to his butt on the floor. Chickens were very dear to Radarr. They were most certainly not meant to be eaten as emergency rations.

"Ouch!" Junko exclaimed, pulling Radarr from his head, "Why'd you do that?"

Radarr barked and gestured with his arms, earning a blank stare in return.

Finn hurried over, while Junko seemed to have snapped out of his hunger fit, and said, "Chickens, man. You remember the chickens. Anyway, look, we'll stop and get some food as soon as the others get back, okay?"

Junko looked up and said, "Oh, uh...Yeah. Okay. Sorry about that, guys. You know how much I hate Stork's cabbage."

Finn pulled him to his feet. "Yeah. Sure."

Radarr jumped up to Finn's shoulder and the three of them stepped onto the bridge. Without taking his eyes from his book, Stork removed his earplugs and said, "Done destroying my ship in the name of cabbage?"

Junko chuckled nervously and scratched his head. "Uh, yeah. Sorry, Stork. I kind of, uh, hurled all your cabbage at Finn's head. We're out."

"Yeah, man, oh well, I guess." Finn shrugged lamely. He was secretly glad all the cabbage was gone.

Stork looked up from his book with an evil smile, eye twitching. "It's a good thing I packed three extra crates in my quarters, then," he said.

Junko and Finn exchanged a dreading glance. "Aw, man..."

...

Aerrow could hear someone calling his name as if from far away. He struggled to free himself from the thick fog of his mind, sat up suddenly and reached for his blades.

His fingers closed on nothing— his daggers were gone —and he felt a hand on his chest. "Aerrow!" Piper cried. "Calm down, you're okay. It's me."

Aerrow looked around, recognizing nothing of his surroundings but the navigator kneeling next to him. "Piper. Where are we?" he asked breathlessly.

She shrugged, "I'm pretty sure we're in that tower at the top of the cliff, but...I'm not sure."

Aerrow groaned. "This is all my fault," he said, and looked up at Piper. "We're stuck here, the others have no idea where we are, Cyclonis knows we're looking for her, and we still don't have a clue as to where she is. If I hadn't— Gah!" He clutched his head as a bolt of pain assaulted him.

Piper laid a supportive hand on his shoulder, keeping him upright, and waited for him to recover. "Aerrow, it's not your fault."

"But—" he tried to cut in, but Piper went on,

"We'll get out of here, and warn everyone, and stop Cyclonis. I promise."

Aerrow looked her in the eyes. "Thanks, Piper, but don't make promises you can't keep."

She was silent, but her brows drew together with worry.

After a moment Aerrow broke eye contact and pushed himself up to his feet with her help, his head pounding where the Talon had struck him. He rubbed the sore bruise there.

"You know, I've beaten those guys so much they're getting kind of endearing," he said to no one.

Piper smiled. She knew the feeling, as strange as it seemed.

Aerrow looked around the cell, for that's what it was— a circular, white-stone prison cell, lit by a cluster of pale crystals in the ceiling, with four round windows too high up to see out of and a single locked wooden door. He figured Piper was right, and they were in one of the white tower's upper rooms, judging by the shape.

He looked up at one of the the windows, the only one without a glass pane, and wondered if it was large enough to escape through. He walked over to it was tried to reach it, but even with his arm stretched to its extent he couldn't touch the bottom edge.

"Piper, come here," he said. Then Aerrow pointed to the window. "If I help you up to there, you think you could climb out?"

She eyed the opening, then shifted her gaze to him. "It isn't glass?" she asked.

He shook his head. "It's broken. It's worth a shot, escaping. As long as you've got a Levitation Crystal or something. It's a long way down."

Piper looked to the window again and nodded. "Okay," she decided, a determined light flaring in her eyes, "let's do this."

Aerrow gave a nod and positioned himself under the window, lacing his hands together. Piper pushed away the image of before, her panic when she thought he'd abandoned her, and started to step up. Then she stopped and looked at him.

"What about you?" she inquired. "I'm not going to leave you here alone."

Aerrow shrugged. "If you escape, you and the others can come back for me later."

Piper still looked uncertain, but he held her gaze with a half-smile until she sighed, "Alright." She stepped up into his joined hands and reached to take hold of the windowsill above her as he lifted from below.

When her head cleared the sill she looked out the window, over the terra beyond, and drew in a wondering gasp. They were undoubtedly in one of the tower's highest rooms, as she could see, under the velvety dark sky, far out over the cliffs beneath them and, at the very edge of her line of sight, the Condor with its running lights blinking.

She could imagine seeing the rest of her team at the windows, waiting for them to return. Or maybe it wasn't just her imagination, and she really could see them there. Either way, she needed to get out of the tower.

Below her, Aerrow grunted, "Uh, Piper? Are you just going to stand there? You're not as light as you look."

She looked down, blushing red. "Oh. Sorry."

She reached up, grabbed the far side of the windowsill, and pulled herself up, shoulders barely fitting through the small gap. She made it halfway before she had to stop and readjust her grip, then pulled herself farther through.

Her head and shoulders cleared the far side then and she was met by a blast of wind in the face. Piper freed one arm and pushed against the tower's outer side with it, trying to wedge her hips through the opening.

She tried for only a moment before she realized she was stuck.

Jammed halfway through the wall in the side of the tower, legs inside, shoulders outside, she was stuck.

"Oh, dear," she sighed.

She heard Aerrow's muffled voice come from inside, "Piper? Are you okay?"

Over the rushing of the wind, Piper called back, "Yes, but I'm...uh, stuck."

Aerrow was silent for a moment. Then she heard him, barely audible, say, "Me and my stupid plans. Nothing but trouble."

She wanted to say something encouraging, but she doubted it would do much good in her current situation. Instead she shouted to him, "Try and push me through!"

She pulled her other arm out through the window and braced it against the outer wall at the same time she felt Aerrow grip her feet. "Ready?" he called.

She took a deep breath, then braced herself and shouted, "Now!"

Both Storm Hawks pushed, and Piper cleared the window. But she overbalanced on the far side, lost her grip on the wall, and fell, plummeting from the hole with a terrified shriek.

"No! Piper!" Aerrow cried.

She gasped and thrust her hand into her crystal bag, searching by feel for her Levitation Crystal. A panicked moment passed, the ground nearing rapidly and the wind tearing past, and then her fingers closed around the crystal and activated it.

Her descent slowed and then stopped altogether, and Piper breathed a sigh of relief. She willed herself higher, back up to the window, where she called, "Aerrow?"

Immediately his voice came through, sounding relieved, "Piper! You're okay?"

"Yeah," she answered breathlessly, breaking into a smile that he couldn't see. It was good to hear his voice. She'd feared she might not have found her crystal in time, and everything she wanted to say to him would have gone forever unsaid.

"I'm coming to get you out," she decided.

He started to protest, shouting, "Piper, you have to warn the others first! They're more important! Hey! Listen! Are you even there?" Then he sighed, continued to himself, "Gah, why don't you ever listen? One day that's going to get you in serious trouble, and I'll never forgive myself."

Piper heard every word and stayed quiet, feeling touched and a little guilty.

She flew back away from the window and circled the tower once, scanning its sides for a lit window near the top, large enough to fly through. She found one quickly, took a deep breath, and shot toward it.

She braced herself a second before she hit the glass and crashed through with only minor cuts. Piper hit the floor inside the tower and rolled until she hit the far wall, startling a lone Cyclonian guard as he walked by.

"You! You're supposed to be— !"

Piper struck him across the face with a quick punch before he could finish, sending him to the floor out cold, and whispered, "Sorry!"

She stepped over the man's still form and dashed up the flight of spiral stairs leading up through the center of the ceiling. She figured there was only a small number of guards here, probably only a handful to keep an eye on her and Aerrow (and what a great job they were doing). From the outside, the tower looked otherwise deserted.

She climbed the stairs until she reached the top level, which was only about thirty feet in circumference, and a familiar wooden door. Another guard stood by it.

He shouted, "Wha— How did you get out here?" and leveled his crystal-tipped staff at her.

The crystal flared red, and Piper cartwheeled to the side as a beam of energy shot by her. She leaped at him, launched an aerial kick into his jaw, and landed lightly as he thumped to the ground with a groan.

Aerrow's voice came from behind the door, "Piper?"

She hurried over and laid a hand against it. "It's me. Hold on, Aerrow, I need to find the key," she said. Piper turned, knelt by the guard she'd just downed, and checked his belt for the key to the door.

She found it without trouble, a coin-sized metal disk with a red crystal protruding from it, and slotted it into the hole in the handle. It turned, and she pushed open the heavy door.

Aerrow stood just inside, and she stepped forward and hugged him tightly before he could say anything.

"I'm sorry," she said in his ear.

"For what?" he asked as she pulled back.

"Disobeying orders. Again. I just couldn't leave you locked up here alone in some Cyclonian prison cell. I got a chance to break you out, and I took it, even though you kind of told me not to, so I'm sorry. I don't mean to worry you all the time."

Aerrow blinked. "Don't worry about it. Just don't make a habit of it, either. Now let's get out of here before the guards wake up."

Piper nodded, and the Storm Hawks dashed from the room. Piper led the way down the stairs to the window she'd crashed through, and there Aerrow suddenly caught her around the waist, activated his glider and leaped into the air.

Piper gasped as they dropped suddenly, then laughed when they caught an updraft and spiraled up into open air. The sensation of flying without a Skimmer or a ship through the darkness was so new and exhilarating, she almost didn't notice Aerrow's arms around her waist and his body pressed against hers. Almost. She grinned and closed her eyes against the blast of the wind.

Aerrow smiled at her antics and guided them toward the waiting Condor.

...

Stork closed his book of untreatable afflictions and stood, returning to his usual place at the helm to stare out the window. Finn, Junko and Radarr were lounging, bored, on various seats around the room, and Stork was growing ever more anxious as Aerrow and Piper still failed to return.

He'd been checking the windows every few minutes for signs of their friends, and nothing had happened yet. Junko had begun snoring somewhere during that time, and Finn took to playing catch with Radarr using a stray cabbage.

Now Stork leaned his sharp elbows against the helm and sighed, staring out over the terra.

He stayed this way for some time before a flicker of movement outside caught his eye.

He leaned over the controls to get a better view and squinted to make out the distinct shapes of two Talon Switchblades. Each appeared to have two riders, one Talon and one...Storm Hawk.

Stork gasped as he realized the situation, rushed to the window and pressed his four-fingered hands against the glass. "Oh no," he said, voice shaking.

The Talons were coming closer, flying toward the white tower, and he could clearly make out the shapes of his friends, slumped across the enemy Skyrides. Somehow they'd been discovered, and now they were being taken to the tower to be imprisoned!

Stork wrung his hands. "Oh, not good. Really not good. Guys, we have a problem."

Finn sat up, and he and Radarr joined Stork at the window.

"What?" Finn asked, and Stork pointed with one trembling finger. Finn looked up, spotted the Talons, and then noticed Aerrow and Piper. "Uh oh," he said, eyes going wide. Radarr let out a squeak.

"Aw, man, what do we do? Go after them?" Finn asked, looking at Stork for an answer.

The Merb shook his head. "They'll find a way out. I'm not risking the Condor to go up there."

Finn looked annoyed, gesturing as he cried, "We can't just sit here and watch while they're getting locked up! We have to do something."

Junko had awoken and came and joined them, stretching and yawning. "What's happening?" he asked.

Finn pointed out the window, "The Cyclonians have got Aerrow and Piper, and Stork doesn't want to go after them."

Junko looked at Stork askance. "But we have to!"

Stork sighed, narrowed his eyes at them. "Fine. But," he raised a finger, "first I'm going to give them half an hour to get out on their own. The Condor is only a last resort."

Finn and Junko nodded in agreement, at least partially satisfied.

Stork went back to his seat and continued reading, shoulders hunched, a sour look on his long face. They all sat down to wait.

Junko fell asleep again, and this time Finn joined him. Radarr stayed perched on the helm, keeping a sharp eye out for signs of his friend. Stork kept his nose in his book.

Time passed slowly. Each minute Radarr's worry grew, and Stork was periodically casting hopeful glances out the window. They waited.

And then, Radarr spotted a flicker of color and movement from one of the highest tower windows. He chirped and gestured wildly to Stork, who hurried over and looked up to where Radarr was pointing.

Stork rifled through a drawer in the control board ans came up with a telescope. He held it up to one eye and trained it on the round tower window.

"Um...it's Piper. Looks like she's trying to jump to her doom. I don't blame her. I suppose a quick death is better than a life spent in...Cyclonian prison." His eye twitched.

Radarr rolled his eyes, snatched the spyglass from Stork and peered through.

It was indeed Piper, and she was indeed trying to climb through the tiny window, but Radarr seriously doubted she was jumping to her doom.

He kept the telescope trained on the window, saw Piper brace her hands against the tower wall, and then he shrieked with alarm as she lost her balance and fell.

In a flash Stork was at the window next to him, watching with wide eyes as their friend plummeted from the top of the tower. "Gah!" the Merb exclaimed, his hands going to his face in horror.

Then Piper stopped in midair, drawing a dark red crystal from her bag, and they both heaved relieved sighs.

"Levitation Crystal," Stork explained. "That was close."

Radarr chirped in agreement. They both watched as Piper flew back up to the window, shouted through, and after a second she rounded the far side of the tower and disappeared from view.

Stork and Radarr stayed at the window, waiting for her to return. Neither of them moved for several minutes. Stork's eye began to twitch again. Radarr started to worry.

Then, suddenly, both Aerrow and Piper came swooping around the tower again, Aerrow's battle glider activated, his arms around her waist. Radarr leaped from the helm in triumph, and Stork smiled and laughed nervously. "That could've been worse," he admitted.


	5. Teamwork

Stork opened the hatch in the bridge roof to let in his teammates, and a second later Aerrow and Piper dropped through to land lightly on the ejector pad. Aerrow's glider wings retracted with a metallic click.

Junko and Finn snapped awake at the noise and the sudden draft, and Radarr leaped happily up to Aerrow's shoulder with a chirp.

"Good to see you too, buddy." Aerrow smiled and patted his copilot on the head.

Junko hurried over and hugged them all except Radarr, who escaped just in time. "Guys! You're okay!" he cried.

Piper gave a strained laugh, "Yep."

Junko backed away, and Finn spoke up, "Dudes, we thought you were in serious trouble."

Aerrow shrugged. "We, um, kind of were," he said, scratching his neck uncomfortably.

Stork stayed by the helm, wringing his hands. "Good to see you haven't met horrible and untimely deaths," he said. Everyone gave him hard looks, and he chuckled, "Yet."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Nice to see you too, Stork."

"Ah, anyway," Aerrow began, changing the subject. "We didn't get Cyclonis' location, but we do know she's got a new plan, and it involves a very powerful crystal. We found a Cyclonian mining operation going on, led by none other than our friend Domiwick. He claimed he doesn't know where Master Cyclonis is, but he said we'd be defeated before we could stop her."

Finn raised a hand, "Uh, isn't that just the usual evil-villain high-and-mighty speech? You know, 'You'll never catch me! I'm unstoppable! I'm gonna defeat you with my mad evil skills!' and all that."

Aerrow sighed. "Yeah," he said, "but it's all we've got."

Stork spoke up, "Um...so, pretty much, we know Master Cyclonis has an evil plan involving crystals. How is that new?"

Aerrow sighed, frustrated. "Well, it-it's not. It's the only thing we know so far, though-" he began, but Stork interrupted again,

"So, basically, we know nothing."

Aerrow threw up his hands, "Yes, okay? We know nothing!" His brows drew together with emotion. "I've failed, guys. It's my fault. Cyclonis is planning something catastrophic, and we don't have a clue." Aerrow turned away, running a gloved hand through his hair in frustration.

Piper reached to touch his shoulder, "Aerrow-"

He shook his head and cut her off harshly. "It's true, Piper! You can't-can't change it. This is because of me! If I hadn't gone and tried to be a hero, we wouldn't have gotten caught, and we'd have the information we need." His voice cracked, "I'm sorry, guys. I just-gah, just give me some time to think."

The others stayed silent, shocked, as he stalked from the room.

Piper hesitated a second, gave Stork a glare that said, 'Look what you've done', and then followed.

Junko and Finn turned their own disapproving looks on Stork, who shrank back, chuckling nervously and giving an apologetic shrug.

Piper followed Aerrow down the corridor, hurrying to catch up to him. "Aerrow, look, you know it isn't your fault. Domiwick, Cyclonis; they're the ones to blame; they're the people causing all this trouble. Not you." she struggled to keep up with him as he walked on, not looking at her.

"I know you, Aerrow. You've gone up against impossible odds before and come out on top. We're the Storm Hawks, for goodness' sake, we've outplayed the entire Cyclonian Empire! Have you forgotten that?"

Aerrow kept walking. "No, of course not, but we had all of Atmosia there to back us up. Now we're alone. On the Far Side, where we have no idea what to expect. We're at a-a disadvantage, to say the least."

Piper set her jaw, caught his arm and turned him to her. "We aren't alone," she said. "Cyclonis is the one who's alone. She may have the power, and the resources, and the knowledge, but the Storm Hawks have each other. We're a team. We can rely on each other. Master Cyclonis is so paranoid she has no one to fall back on but herself. She doesn't trust anyone, not with Dark Ace gone. That's what makes her vulnerable. Her greatest weakness is our greatest strength. That's why we're going to win. Now, quit with the pity-party and let's get a plan together, okay?" She looked up at Aerrow, her gaze locking with his.

He started to smile, then nodded and said, "Okay." They stood there silently for a moment, then Piper threw her arms around him.

"Thanks, Piper." Aerrow said, hugging her back, and then they broke away.

"You're welcome." She smiled.

Without a word they turned and walked side by side back to the bridge.

Stork was fiddling with something on the control board, and Junko and Finn were sitting on the round table in the center of the room. "You're back," Junko greeted them.

Stork glanced over his shoulder and grunted before turning back to the board.

Finn, sensing the change in Aerrow's attitude, hopped off the table and asked, "So, what's the plan?"

The Sky Knight went to the table Finn had just vacated and addressed everyone, "That's what we're going to figure out. Everybody gather around."

The team complied and came to stand around the round table, even Radarr, who perched on the edge. Aerrow placed his fists against the tabletop and leaned on them. "First of all, we need to flush the Cyclonians out of the caves," he said, pointing out the window. "We'll fire a few shots from the blasters first, and then I'll go in and clean things up on the ground.

"Then we need to block off or seal up the tunnels so Cyclonis can't get to the big crystal. Once we do that, hopefully she'll take notice and reveal herself. If not, we'll just fly low for awhile and see what we can learn about this place, and the next time we catch wind of Cyclonian activity we'll hit 'em hard and see if we can track her down. Our first priority is finding Cyclonis and taking her in. Research comes after that," he said, giving Piper a pointed look.

She frowned in return, and Aerrow shifted his gaze between each of his squadron members. "I want the very best from every one of you, and I'll try to do the same. Piper made a good point earlier: Our greatest strength, trust, is Cyclonis' greatest weakness. Remember that, guys." He straightened up. "Now, let's go kick those Talons out. Ready?"

The team chorused, "Yeah!", and Aerrow gave a nod.

They scattered, Stork to the helm, Finn and Junko to the blasters on either side of the bridge, Radarr to the railing until something needed repair. Piper stayed next to Aerrow.

She looked over at him, hesitated, and then rose up on tiptoe and kissed him gently on the cheek.

"Nice speech, Sky Knight." she said, "but I think you're forgetting something. You don't have your daggers, and our Skimmers are still hidden down in the caves. Sky Fu alone may not be enough against armed soldiers."

Aerrow, whose ears had gone red, said with a smirk, "Come on, it's Cyclonians we're talking about. I'll be fine."

Piper laughed. He was right, but she still didn't wasn't completely convinced. "Just be careful," she said, and he nodded.

"I will."

Aerrow went to stand at the railing behind Stork. "Take us up, Stork," he ordered.

The Merb grunted an affirmative, fired up the engines, pulled a pair of levers and eased the Condor off the ground. Stork gripped the helm and guided the ship around the tower, then down to the cliff face. He positioned it so the blasters had a clear shot at the caves, then nodded to Aerrow over his shoulder.

In turn the Sky Knight called, "Now! Aim for the dark tunnels, we don't want to hit anybody...even if they are Cyclonians."

Junko and Finn answered, "Aye!" and started firing.

Their shots struck the cliff face in unison, avoiding the red-lit caves, and sent concussions through the pale stone that shook the whole terra. Before long, a stream of Talons came flooding out of the ground-level caves, waving their arms and yelling. Most spotted the Condor and took off on their Switchblades, while others fired weak bolts of energy at the airship from their staffs.

After another few rounds of blaster shots, Aerrow held up his hand.

About forty Cyclonian Talons had fled from the caves for fear of being crushed, just as the Storm Hawks had hoped, and most of that number had scrambled to their Skyrides and flown away.

Aerrow looked back at Piper, "That looks like most of the miners," he said, and Piper confirmed his statement with a nod. He turned back to the window.

"I'm going in. Wish me luck," he said, and Junko did with a wave.

Aerrow nodded to Stork, positioning himself over the ejector pad, and the Merb pulled the lever and sent him flying up and out the hatch in the ceiling. Aerrow whooped as he was shot straight up into the air, then activated his glider at the peak of his climb and spiraled back down and into one of the largest lit caves.

The tips of his glider's wings clipped the sides of the cave as he entered, throwing up little jets of sparks.

Aerrow followed the cave's slope down until it opened into the crystal cavern, then swooped down to the floor and snapped in his glider's wings. He looked around. No Cyclonians in sight.

Good.

He went up to the big artichoke-shaped crystal, which was even more enormous up close, and checked its surface to see if the Talon miners had done any damage. Not a scratch showed on its ruby sides.

The carts of the red crystals from the walls were still there, too, abandoned where they stood by the fleeing Cyclonians.

Aerrow stepped over to one and picked up one of the crystals, wondering what chaos Cyclonis could possibly cause with all of them. He turned it over in his hands. He felt a small jolt of electricity shoot from it and up his arm, and he grunted and almost dropped it.

Maybe he could take one of them, and get Piper to study it in her lab. It might even give them a clue as to what Master Cyclonis was planning. Aerrow smirked and slipped the crystal into a pocket.

"Didn't count on this, did you, Cyclonis? Leave it to Domiwick to give us a whole cavern full of evidence," he said aloud. Then, "Wait a second. Domiwick."

Where was Domiwick, exactly? Now that Aerrow thought about it, he hadn't seen the khaki-clad blond leave the caves at all earlier. Realization flooded through him, and Aerrow's eyes widened.

He whirled around, too late.

I.J. Domiwick's tanned fist connected with his face, and Aerrow staggered and fell back against a mine cart full of crystals. He reached for his blades, remembered they were gone, and rolled out of the way of a vicious kick from Domiwick aimed at his head.

"Looking for these?" The fortune-seeker sneered, dangling Aerrow's daggers in front of him.

Aerrow lunged, but Domiwick snatched them out of reach, kicked him in the chest, and said, "Uh-uh-uh. You didn't say please."

Aerrow climbed to his feet, scowling, and growled, "Domiwick, you don't have to work for Cyclonis. She's the bad guy. We can help you, if you just-"

"Master Cyclonis has offered me fame and fortune and glory in exchange for doing a little of her dirty work! What more could one ask for?" Domiwick interrupted.

Aerrow jumped forward, kicked him in the side and danced back again. "You already have fame and fortune, Domiwick!"

"Not here!" the blond countered, struggling to regain his breath, "You blasted Storm Hawks can be thanked for that!"

Aerrow lowered his fists, "What?"

"You are the reason I'm stuck here!" Domiwick cried. "This journey was meant to be a short expedition to the Other Side and back, just to boost my popularity a bit, renew my fans' rabid admiration, but since you children sealed the way back to Atmos, I am forever stranded in this accursed place! Master Cyclonis offered me back what I have lost. Is it really so hard to believe that I agreed?"

Aerrow spread his hands, "We were trying to save the terra from mutant sharks. I'm sorry, Domiwick, but we gave you a chance to get out before we sealed the entrance to the Tunnels. We were doing the right thing-"

"By condemning me to this tedious existence? Hardly the right thing!" Domiwick protested.

Aerrow raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Not exactly how I'd describe it, but yes, we did what helped the many instead of worrying about you," he said.

Domiwick gasped dramatically, taken aback. "You-you dare...?" he whispered.

Aerrow rolled his eyes. "There are other ways back to Atmos," he said frankly.

Domiwick looked like a startled goldfish for a moment, then composed himself and asked, "What? There are?"

Aerrow nodded, "They are called the 'Endless Tunnels' for a reason. There are some still unsealed on the Atmosian side. I'm sure one of them reaches this place. Or we could reopen the Door with the right crystal combination, I think."

Domiwick was silent for a moment. "You aren't just pulling my leg now, are you, boy?" he finally asked.

Aerrow shook his head. Domiwick considered this, then said, "Well, I believe you, but I'm not betraying Master Cyclonis. Her side is obviously the winning one at the moment, and I wouldn't want to put myself in danger."

He smirked, "Perhaps when this is all over, I will return to Atmos and be crowned a hero, known for my epic journey across the border between worlds." He placed a hand to his chest importantly.

Aerrow frowned. "Um, yeah. Not likely."

He leaped up then, twisted and kicked Domiwick in the jaw, sending his fancy fedora flying from its perch on his head. The treasure hunter fell, unconscious, and Aerrow retrieved his blades (and the hat, figuring it was important to Domiwick). Then he turned to leave.

As an afterthought, he grabbed an extra blood-red crystal from the mine cart and slipped it into his pocket, and then dragged Domiwick through the cave directly ahead.

A few minutes later he stepped out into the open again, arms and back protesting from the strain of hauling Domiwick from the cavern.

The Condor was idling some distance above the ground, the Cyclonians had all been chased away on their Switchblades, and Piper was emerging from another cave to his right with her heliscooter. When she saw him, Aerrow beckoned her over.

She hurried to them and looked down at the unconscious man. "Domiwick? I would've thought him to be the first one out," she said.

Aerrow nodded. "I know. He was expecting me. There's something more going on here than we thought."

He and Piper exchanged a grim look, and then Aerrow asked, "Can you give me a hand with him? I don't want him to get caught in the blast when we seal this place up."

She nodded, but frowned distastefully as she lifted Domiwick's arm across her shoulders. Aerrow replaced the man's hat and did the same on his other side, and the Storm Hawks half-carried the treasure hunter over to one side, behind an outcropping of rock out of the way of the caves.

They left him there, and Aerrow went to retrieve his Skimmer from the cave where he'd hidden it before. He mounted up, and he and Piper took off for the Condor.

On the way there, Piper filled him in. "Junko set charges just inside the entrances to most of the caves. It should cut off any access to the crystal cavern... Hey, are you okay?"

Aerrow had been deep in thought, only half listening. He blinked and looked over. "What?" he asked.

Piper looked a little worried, "Are you alright?" she repeated. "You looked a little...spaced out."

Aerrow nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine, it's just...Domiwick said something...he blames us for being stuck here," he said.

Piper shook her head. "That's ridiculous!" she cried. "He had a chance to get out of there, and he chose not to."

Aerrow rubbed his neck. "Yeah, well, I know..." he trailed off.

"But...?" Piper inquired.

He shook his head and said, "Nothing. Never mind. Let's just concentrate on sealing the caves."

Piper sighed. She knew he was beating himself up over something he wasn't responsible for-again-but now wasn't the time to worry about it. They rode their Skimmers into the hangar bay, parked them, and headed up to the bridge.

Junko was there, holding a remote control and bouncing up and down with excitement. When they entered, he asked, "Can I do it now?"

Piper smiled. "Yes, Junko. Seal the caves!"

The Wallop laughed with childish joy and pressed the button on his remote. The explosives he'd set down by the cliff went off with a flash and a noise like thunder, and Stork pulled the Condor up further to avoid any danger.

The cliff face collapsed, slabs of stone sliding and chunks of rock tumbling down to rest in piles. When the billowing white dust cleared, no entrance into the tunnels stood open.

The Storm Hawks cheered and exchanged high-fives to celebrate their success (excluding Stork, of course, who just laughed nervously, glad they hadn't been caught in the blast and sent to a fiery doom).

Afterward, Aerrow went over to Piper, digging one of the red crystals out of his pocket and showing it to her. "Can you tell me what this is?" he asked.

Piper took it from his outstretched hand, then yelped and dropped it when it sent a jolt of electricity up her arm.

Aerrow caught the crystal before it hit the ground and gave it back to her. "It did that to me too. Sorry," he said.

Piper shook her head, holding the red stone up to her eye. "I can't tell what it is just by looking at it. Mind if I take it to the crystal lab and...?" she inquired, pointing to express her meaning.

Aerrow shrugged. "Go ahead. I just want to know if it's going to explode or something."

Piper nodded and exited the bridge.

Aerrow stepped up to the railing next to the helm and asked, "Stork, navigation is still down, right?"

The Merb answered, "Yep. Don't think it's ever going to respond here."

"How long have we been gone?" the Sky Knight inquired.

Stork glanced at the Timepulse indicator, "Five hours."

Aerrow nodded. "And I'm homesick already," he sighed to himself, and turned away from the window. He pulled the second crystal from his pocket and looked at it. Its face looked oddly warped, even though when he rubbed his thumb across it it was perfectly flat. "Huh," he said, turning it over in his hands.

Then he went over to the table and looked at the mostly-blank paper spread across it. It was a map, with only two detailed terras drawn in the center and a scale legend in one corner.

Apparently Piper had been busy while he was gone.

Even so, with no navigation and no sun to use as a constant (the sky was still dark, and the two towers seemed to be the only sources of light at the moment), they were still flying blind. They couldn't go anywhere save the two terras they'd already visited, and Aerrow wanted to get away from this one in case the Cyclonians dropped by, so he straightened and ordered, "Stork, take us back to the other terra."

Stork saluted and gripped the helm, and the Condor turned about and headed back toward the first terra they'd seen. "May I ask...why?" Stork asked.

Aerrow answered him, "I don't want to be here if the Cyclonians come back. The only place we can go is that terra."

The Merb nodded, "You do know Piper has a Compass Crystal, right?" he said, looking back over his shoulder.

Aerrow's gaze snapped up to the pilot, "What?"

Stork tilted his head and spoke carefully, "I saw her with it earlier, while you were on your...ah, mission down there," he waved a hand vaguely toward the terra they'd just left. "She was fiddling with the navigational controls. I think she was going to surprise us later with an amazing new compass...thingy, for the ship. Oops. Spoiled the surprise." He shrugged.

Aerrow sighed. "Thanks for letting me know. I'll talk to her about it," he said, and Stork smiled slightly.

The Sky Knight turned and strode from the room, turned out into the corridor, and ran straight into his navigator. Piper yelped, and Aerrow jumped back, startled.

"Oh. Uh, sorry." He cleared his throat awkwardly, and then straightened. "Piper, Stork tells me you have a Compass Crystal you didn't mention earlier. Care to explain?" he asked.

Piper looked guilty immediately, "Oh, Aerrow, I was going to use it to get navigation back up. Like, as a surprise. Sorry I didn't tell you about it," she said.

Aerrow knew he should've been irritated, but he felt himself start to smile.

Piper's apologetic expression turned to one of confusion. "What?" she asked.

Aerrow shook his head, chuckling. "You've got to tell me about stuff like that. It could mean the difference between success and, well, a horrible doom."

Piper nodded, looked down at her feet. "I know. I'm sorry." Then she looked up laughing, "You've been spending too much time around Stork."

Aerrow rubbed his neck. "I know. Anything else you've been keeping from me?" he asked.

Piper hesitated a second, then shook her head. Her cheeks turned a light shade of red, and Aerrow raised an eyebrow. She reached into her crystal bag and brought out the blood-red stone, then held it up.

"Anyway, I was coming to tell you what I found. This has almost the same composition as a Medulla Crystal, but not exactly."

"Like the one used with the Suit of Untold Vengeance?" Aerrow clarified.

Piper nodded.

"Why would she want one of those?" he asked.

Piper shrugged. "I can think of a lot of evil plots that might include one of these."

Aerrow's brows drew together. "Well, if Cyclonis is so interested in it, we are too. Piper, right now you get to work with that Compass Crystal. I'm sure Stork wouldn't mind you improving the Condor's systems. I'm going to go down to the terra again and see if I can find a crystal expert. I need to find out what these are for. It may lead us to Master Cyclonis."

...

At that moment, Master Cyclonis herself was perched upon the seat of her new throne, gazing at the slab of blood-red crystal in her hand, a malicious smirk playing at her lips. She chuckled softly, watching the young Sky Knight's every move through the crystal, relishing the look of helpless bemusement upon his handsome face.

The Storm Hawks had no idea.

They didn't know what she was planning, and she intended to keep it that way until she chose to strike. She looked up and addressed the image of the man standing stone-still at her side. His body seemed to writhe with shifting hues of red and yellow, like molten lava.

"Our plan is working flawlessly," she said to the shadow of a man. "Soon you will get you chance for revenge, Dark Ace."


	6. Forbidden Crystals

Aerrow rode his Skimmer down to the surface of the dark, mountainous terra, Radarr present in his copilot's sidecar, and parked it against the wall of a stone building nearby.

He and Radarr then walked into the cluster of buildings along the bank of the black river, the arrangement looking a bit like a toned-down, eerily lit Western village. He earned several suspicious looks from the townsfolk as he walked by, and he tried to keep his gaze on the ground to avoid any awkward staring-contests.

As he reached the first line of shops and stores Aerrow looked up at the glowing signs over the doors, searching for anything having to do with crystals. The writing above each entryway, carved into the stone with amazing precision, wasn't Atmosian, but similar enough that Aerrow could make it out without much trouble.

The first sign read, 'Eirodike's Speeders.' The second said, 'Black Valley Consignment.' A third, 'Greenlight Tavern.'

Aerrow continued on down the line, avoiding a small crowd of giggling girls (one of whom, a plainly dressed blonde, looked oddly familiar), and read the next sign, 'Crystal Identification.' He looked at Radarr, perched on his shoulder. "Well, that was easy."

Radarr chirped in agreement, and Aerrow went up to the shop door and opened it carefully. He stepped into the building, gagged at the thick scent of perfume in the air, and looked around. Contrasting with the world outside, the place was brightly lit by rows of crystals in the ceiling, and waist-high display cases full of colorful stones dominated the floorspace. A wooden counter stood by the wall to his left, a door behind it, but no one was there.

"Hello?" Aerrow called.

He heard a crash from behind the door, and shouting. Fearing the worst, Aerrow drew his daggers, vaulted the counter and kicked open the door, ready for a fight.

An elderly man stood alone in the middle of the gray-walled room, holding a pair of metal tongs, pieces of broken glass and crystal littering the floor around his feet. The stooped old man wore a fitted suit similar to Aerrow's own, inlaid with crystals and looking very high-tech, though everything else about him reminded Aerrow of the head councilman on Terra Atmosia.

When Aerrow burst through the door with daggers glowing the man froze, mouth agape, looking as if he'd nearly suffered a heart attack. Aerrow stared. After a second Radarr pulled on Aerrow's ear, and he sheathed his daggers and cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, sir. I thought the- the Talons- ah, never mind. I heard shouting. Are you okay?" he asked.

The wispy-haired man adopted a sour expression. "Why, yes, of course I am. I dropped one of my crystal displays and got upset, that's all. And what do you want, young man?"

Aerrow scratched his head, "I need someone to tell me what this crystal is," he held up the red one, "and you seemed to be the best man for the job." He figured a little flattery couldn't hurt, and it seemed to work.

"Ah. Yes, well, right you are." The old man took the crystal from Aerrow with his metal tongs and held it up, bringing out a tiny machine with a screen and holding it in front of the crystal.

Then, suddenly, he cried out and dropped it, jumping back. "Oh, dear, do you have any idea what this is?" he demanded.

Aerrow replied, "Ah, well, no. That's why I came to you."

The old man shook his head, backing away. "I don't know what you're mixed up in, boy, but I suggest you get rid of that crystal as soon as possible," he said, voice shaking.

Aerrow took a step forward, and Radarr gripped his shoulder with fright. "What? Why? What is it?" he asked, panic rising. That thing had been on the Condor! If it was a threat, he wanted to know it right now.

The old man turned and hurried toward the door, "That, young man, is one of the Forbidden Crystals of Terra Dolos," he said at a rough whisper, and disappeared. Aerrow looked back and forth between the crystal and the door the man had just left through.

"Forbidden Crystal..." he echoed, and Radarr whimpered.

...

Piper held the metal panel in place as Stork finished fastening the screws. He straightened then and said, "There. Now, stand back in case this bursts into infernal flame, and..." He pulled a lever by the helm.

The dials on the navigational board spun wildly for a moment, the team holding their breaths hopefully, and then the arrows aligned. Stork laughed wonderingly. "We did it!" he exclaimed.

Piper let out a relieved sigh. "Navigation is back up and running, guys!" she announced.

Finn came over, having spent the whole time lounging in a chair to one side, and asked, "Cool. Now can we get some food?"

Piper put her hands on her hips. "Wait until Aerrow gets back," she told him.

Junko groaned loudly from across the room. "But we haven't eaten since...I can't even remember how long ago!" he whined. Finn nodded in agreement.

Stork reminded them, "If you hadn't thrown all my cabbage at each other's heads we'd have more to eat."

Piper rolled her eyes, "We'll stop somewhere as soon as we're all here, okay? Our first priority is still finding Cyclonis."

Finn joined in with Junko's groaning, "I can't fight evil on an empty stomach!"

Piper sighed and didn't grace them with a response, turning to look out the window. She perched on the edge of the center table and watched hopefully for Aerrow's return.

...

Aerrow considered leaving the red crystal there on the floor and never worrying about it again, but he thought better of it, sighed, and picked up the forbidden stone, slipping it back into his pocket.

Radarr barked a warning, but Aerrow said, "I can't just abandon our only clue, Radarr. Forbidden or not, we're getting to the bottom of this." He pushed through the door to the main room, the old man nowhere to be seen, and then exited the building.

He knew he wouldn't be learning anything more from the crystal expert, so on a hunch he went over to the Greenlight Tavern, took a deep breath, and then stepped inside.

It wasn't nearly as rancid-smelling or busy as he'd expected. It was a wide, futuristic room with dim green crystals lining the ceiling and every surface composed of smooth metal.

Only a handful of people sat at the sleek booths, talking quietly or just staring down fondly into their glasses of who-knows-what, and a bored-looking man stood at the counter holding a rag. The three waitresses he could see were chatting to each other at a booth near the counter, dressed in modest green-lined uniforms.

Contrary to what he'd heard about most taverns, it seemed an ultramodern, well-kept place. Pleasantly surprised, Aerrow went up to the man at the counter and cut straight to the point.

"Sir, what can you tell me about the Forbidden Crystals of Terra Dolos?"

The bartender looked up, startled. He was a young, dark-haired man, the beginnings of a beard reaching partway along his jaw, and he looked intelligent enough. Several of the other patrons looked up as well, giving Aerrow harsh looks. He suddenly felt uneasy.

The bartender said, "Kid, you'd best not talk about things like that. It could get you in trouble."

Aerrow looked at him. "This is very important. I need to know whatever there is to know about them," he said.

The bartender growled, "There is nothing to know. All anyone knows about the Crystals is that they were once used for unspeakable evil. Unspeakable. Get it?"

Aerrow opened his mouth to respond, but thought better of it and turned away. This wasn't going nearly as smoothly as he'd hoped. Aerrow ran a hand through his hair. If the people in this place wouldn't tell him anything, maybe he could find out for himself. Maybe there was a library around that he could visit, and find a book on the crystals or something.

That was as good a plan as any, he figured, and so without looking back he left the tavern and stepped back outside. Aerrow searched the little town for a library or something similar, but he found nothing that was any help.

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair again, returning to his Skimmer once he'd finished. He looked over at Radarr, perched on his shoulder looking deflated. "Cheer up, buddy. We'll figure this out. For now let's head back to the Condor and check up on the new navigational system."

Radarr chirped halfheartedly as Aerrow climbed onto his Skimmer, and they sped off and took flight, heading toward the Condor. Aerrow could only partially enjoy the excitement of flying through the dark atmosphere, the wind tugging at his uniform and his red hair, so distracted and worried was he.

When Aerrow and his copilot reached the ship they went up to the bridge right away.

There, Piper was sitting on the edge of the center table, Stork was standing at the railing looking nervous, and Junko and Finn were sitting in chairs nearby, groaning dramatically.

Aerrow took in the scene and looked to Piper, questioning.

She rolled her eyes. "They're hungry. I said we could find somewhere to eat when you got back."

Aerrow nodded. "That sounds like a good idea, actually. How's navigation?" he asked.

Stork held up a finger and answered, "Fully functional and ready to go. I hope."

Aerrow nodded, suspecting that was the best report he could get from Stork, and said, "Good. Find somewhere to stop for awhile, then."

The Merb grunted an affirmative and gripped the helm as Aerrow turned to leave.

"Aerrow," Piper called.

He stopped, wincing. He'd known this was coming.

"What did you learn about the crystals?" she asked. Aerrow turned back to his team, rubbing his neck. Even the boys were looking at him expectantly.

"Not much," Aerrow said. "Or at least nothing that will help." He avoided mentioning the 'unspeakable evil' part of what he'd heard, and he could tell Piper knew he was holding something back, though she didn't say anything.

Junko sighed, "Oh, well. We'll figure it out another way, then."

Finn nodded and added, "Yeah. We always do."

Stork stayed silent; he wasn't as sure about that as the others.

Piper just crossed her arms. She intended to figure out what Aerrow was keeping from them, just not here. She didn't want to worry everyone else. So, when Aerrow stepped out the door and started down the hall, she followed him, intending to pry the truth from him before he got too far.

Aerrow heard her footsteps behind him and considered dashing away down the corridor before she could question him, but he thought better of it and stopped, turning to face her. Piper nearly ran into him at the sudden halt, but she composed herself and asked, "So, what are you hiding? Tell me everything that happened down there. Everything."

Aerrow sighed and scratched his head uncomfortably before he answered, "First I went to a crystal identifier. I showed him this, and he freaked out. He told me this was a forbidden crystal of some sort-" he held up the blood-red stone, "and he ran away, so I left. Then there was the bartender at the Greenlight Tavern-"

"Aerrow, you went to a bar?" Piper interrupted, but at his impatient look she waved him on. "Okay, sorry, go ahead."

Aerrow continued, "I asked the guy what he knew about the crystals. He told me I could get in trouble for asking things like that, and he said these were once used to commit unspeakable evils. I didn't want to worry the others- or, well, you, but you asked for it- so I didn't say anything."

Piper sighed, "Now who's keeping secrets?"

Aerrow went to reply, but she cut him off with a shake of her head.

"Never mind," she said. "The others need to know-"

"Ahem. We already do," Stork's voice came out of nowhere.

Aerrow and Piper whirled around as he, Finn, Junko and Radarr stepped around the corner. Stork was smiling slyly.

Piper huffed, "You guys, really?"

Finn shrugged. "You weren't the only one who knew he was hiding something," he said to her. Radarr chirped in agreement.

"How much did you hear?" Aerrow asked.

Junko answered cheerfully, "Oh, everything."

Aerrow nodded. "Good. Then I don't have to repeat myself." He looked between the members of his squadron and went on, "From what we've heard, these crystals are dangerous. I want them put somewhere safe and nobody touching them, got it? It's a good thing we sealed the caves when we did, or Cyclonis would already have a cavernful of these things."

Junko asked then, "Uh, if we just cut off Master Cyclonis' only source of the crystals, and she wants them that badly, won't that make us her biggest target? We have the only ones."

Aerrow nodded. He'd realized that, but it didn't make much of a difference; they were her prime target anyway. He told Junko this and the Wallop nodded in understanding.

Aerrow said then, "Right now, what we need to do is-"

"Find somewhere to eat?" Finn suggested.

Aerrow sighed, "That too, but first we need to lock up the crystals and search the area for any sign of Cyclonian activity. We can eat while we look."

The boys high-fived triumphantly, and Piper rolled her eyes. Aerrow looked to her and said, holding up his red crystal, "I'm going to put this away down in the brig, just in case. I need yours too."

Piper nodded and fished in her pockets, came up emtpy-handed. "I must have left it in my room," she sighed.

"I'll stop by and get it, then," Aerrow said, turning to go.

Piper called, "Wait!" reaching out a hand to stop him, but she composed herself quickly and cleared her throat. "Um, I'd rather you not. I'll, uh, get it myself," she said.

Everyone looked at her strangely.

Piper ducked her head. "I mean, it's my room, so I don't want people...going in there."

Stork came up behind her suddenly, eye twitching with suspicion. "You aren't hiding a body in there or anything, right? Hmm?" he pressed.

Finn said, "Maybe she's keeping an evil bat thing as a pet."

"Or- or, a secret stash of candy!" Junko joined in.

"Guys, leave her alone. She's not hiding any dead bodies." Aerrow waved them off.

Stork held up a finger. "As far as you know, she's not. You seemed pretty quick to defend her there, too. I'll bet you're in on it! You're both hiding a dead body! You sick people! You didn't let me help!" he cried.

Piper stepped away from all of them, saying, "No, I'm not hiding a body! No one is hiding anything! I just don't want you guys in my room. It's the only private place on this ship-"

"Ah, well, there is the storage closet-"

"Stork, not helping! Leave me alone, okay?" Piper brushed by the boys and left the bridge.

Finn and Junko exchanged a glance and started to smile. Stork looked a bit put out. Aerrow sighed at them all and stepped out into the corridor as well, figuring he'd better smooth things over now rather than later.

Friction within the team was the last thing they needed right now.

He knew she'd told them to leave her alone, but there were more important things to address. Like the crystals.

None of them had any idea what the blood-red stones could do, aside from some sort of 'unspeakable evil'. Maybe they exploded. Or infected people with an incurable virus that would kill them slowly and horribly.

Aerrow shuddered. He was thinking too much like Stork.

As he turned the corner and reached the hall where the team's quarters were located, he took a deep breath and called, "Piper?"

He saw her stop in the doorway to her room. "I told you to leave me alone," she said.

Aerrow came to a stop some feet away, a respectful distance. "I know," he answered simply. Then he went on, "The guys were just messing around, you know. Don't let them get to you. Unless, of course...you really are hiding a body in your room." He smiled crookedly, and Piper rolled her eyes, mood seeming to improve.

She sighed, "You're all hopeless."

She stepped into her room then, and Aerrow came to stand in the doorway as she searched her desk. She found the red crystal and straightened, holding the stone up to the light.

"I wonder what this thing really does," she mused.

Aerrow shrugged and said, "I kind of hope we never find out."

Piper stepped over and handed it to him. Aerrow took the crystal and slipped it into his pocket next to the other one, then asked her, "You really aren't hiding something important from us, right?"

Piper shook her head. "Of course not," she said. "I just need my space."

Aerrow nodded and gave her a slight smile, then stepped out into the hall and headed toward the brig.

Down a flight of narrow stairs he went, then through the corridors and down a series of metal ladders, stopping at a heavy iron door. The brig was where prisoners would be kept, if they'd had any, and for the Storm Hawks it also doubled as a safe to lock away any dangerous objects they came across.

The strange red crystals certainly fit the description, and so Aerrow took them to the metal storage container they'd installed there and placed them inside.

Before he shut and locked the door to the safe, however, he felt a strange feeling of hesitation still his hand. Did he really want to lock away such a powerful weapon?

What if they could learn how to use it and defeat Cyclonis in the blink of an eye?

The idea sounded worthwhile.

But no, he told himself, according to the people on the surface the crystals were evil, or they had been used so in the past. They couldn't risk history repeating itself.

Aerrow turned, shut the container lid and turned away.

Suddenly a blast of red lightning exploded from the pair of crystals, shattering the metal container, and an unearthly shriek filled the air.

Aerrow cried out and clapped his hands to his ears to drown out the horrible noise. He turned to see what was happening and glimpsed the smoking remains of the safe before the red lightning whipped around and struck him in the chest, and a translucent image of a snakelike creature reared its spiked head and followed the red streak into his body.

A bolt of fierce pain assaulted him, and Aerrow clutched his head and cried out, sinking to one knee. His chest convulsed, ribs protesting. He couldn't draw a breath. A feeling like fire licked up and down his limbs, and he futilely swiped at his skin to try to expel the burning.

He fought the wave of darkness threatening to engulf him and failed utterly.

...

Master Cyclonis stared raptly into her crystal tablet, watching the Sky Knight crumple to the deck of his ship unconscious, a slight smile flickering at her lips.

The crystal beasts were behaving perfectly.

She reached for her staff and laid a hand on the lava-colored crystal at the top, bending it to her will, bringing forth the image of the man trapped inside.

A projection of the Dark Ace appeared beside her. "Master," he inclined his head slightly with respect.

"Dark Ace," she greeted him, and in an instant of genuine caring she inquired, "How are you feeling?"

Her Talon commander, still unfailingly loyal to her despite what had happened, looked slightly confused. "I-I'm sorry?" he asked, thinking he'd misheard her.

Cyclonis repeated herself, "I asked, how are you feeling?"

Dark Ace clasped his hands behind his back. "I am better, I suppose. It is...disconcerting to be separated from one's body, as you may imagine. I will be fit for duty as soon as you wish, though, Master," he answered.

Cyclonis nodded slowly. "Good. I am still searching for a way to return you to normal, Dark Ace. Those Storm Hawks are proving just as dimwitted as I'd expected, though. I will have complete control over the Sky Knight soon, and I'm sure the rest won't pose too much of a problem...well, perhaps not. That navigator girl...Piper...she will be a bit more difficult to handle, I suspect."

"Perhaps, Master," Dark Ace said. "Even so, we will crush her along with the rest." A malicious smile spread over his face, and Master Cyclonis chuckled softly.

"Your confidence inspires me, my champion," she said, and Cyclonis held up her staff again.

The projection returned to the stone in a thin line of lightning, and the young empress sat back in her throne with a sigh.

Soon, very soon, it would be time to set the next step of her plan in motion.

She would break apart the pesky Storm Hawks squadron from within, without even lifting a finger against them herself. She smiled slightly at the thought. Once they were removed from the equation, she would be one step closer to taking control of Atmosia again.

After that would come the rest of the world.


	7. Floating Terra

Aerrow's eyes snapped open suddenly, and he sat up with a pained sigh. He looked around the brig, noting the charred pieces of the safe, the closed metal door behind him, and the blood-red crystals resting unharmed where he'd placed them. Those accursed crystals. He raised a hand to his head, where a dull throb remained.

What exactly had happened? Aerrow remembered the crystal sending out bolts of red lightning when he put it in the safe, and then the terrible shrieks it had emitted. After that...the snaky creature had vanished into his chest. Aerrow started to breathe faster.

What was that thing? Was is inside of him somehow right now?

He was suddenly reminded of the Nightcrawlers' armor, the translucent beasts that had seemed to inhabit the crystals within. Something like that had just wormed its way into him?

Aerrow shuddered and felt his chest, searching with his fingers for any holes or unnatural lumps or other signs of alien presence. The front of his uniform was charred, the armor plates partly melted, but aside from that there was nothing strange.

Regardless, this was very bad. He had to tell the others.

There was an evil Far Side critter inside of him, probably killing him from the inside out, and there wasn't anything he could do to stop it. Maybe Piper could figure out some way to get the thing out, or maybe this one had allergies like the Nightcrawlers' crystal creatures. There may still be some hope.

Aerrow pushed himself up from the floor, steadied himself, and opened the door to the rest of the ship. He stepped through, locked it securely behind him and climbed the series of ladders, then the stairs, then hurried through the hallways and stumbled onto the bridge.

He was met by his team, the five of them turning around, startled. Before anyone could speak, Aerrow gasped, "We have a serious problem."

Stork grumbled, "You think?" without turning around.

Piper ignored him and hurried over to Aerrow touching gently the burned patch on his chest, "Aerrow, what happened?" she asked breathlessly.

"Are you okay?" Junko inquired.

Finn looked over Junko's shoulder. "Dude, what happened to you?" he cried, sounding quite shocked. "You were gone, like, five minutes, man. How'd you get blown up?"

Aerrow answered, "The crystals. I was putting them in the safe in the brig, and they started blasting lightning. A bolt hit me, and a creature like the ones in the Nightcrawler armor went...into my chest, I guess. I blacked out."

"So...one of those things is inside you?" Junko asked, voice wavering with fright.

"Dude, that's so creepy!" Finn exclaimed.

"I knew it," Stork told them. "It's going to eat your soul and kill you horribly from within!"

Aerrow scowled. "Thanks, Stork, I feel much better now."

Piper said nothing, checking Aerrow's wound with a feather-light touch. It seemed the lightning hadn't done much damage, his armor taking the brunt of the strike, but around the plating his skin was reddened and raw. When her fingers brushed across the damaged area Aerrow made an exclamation, and she jerked her hand away. "Sorry. I just need to see how serious it is," she apologized sympathetically.

Aerrow gave a grunt in acknowledgement. Then he addressed the whole team, "Whatever this thing's going to do, it can't be good. We need to find a way to get it out. Until then, I think it would be safest for us to land and lock me up somewhere it can't hurt anyone else."

The others nodded grimly.

After a moment, "I leave you alone for five minutes and you get struck by lightning and attacked by an alien," Piper murmured halfheartedly, reaching into the crystal bag at her hip. Aerrow shrugged helplessly, not knowing what to say.

She drew out a pair of crystals, one blue, one green, and held them up to his burns. A wave of cool air washed from the blue one, soothing the irritated wound, and the second slowly repaired the damaged skin. After a moment Aerrow's wound was gone, and Piper replaced her crystals.

"Thanks," he said gratefully, and she nodded without a word. Then Stork called from the helm, "We're nearing a terra. A...floating one."

Finn ran to the railing and looked out the window. "Dude..." he said in awe.

Junko joined him, exclaiming, "Wow!"

Soon everyone was lined up at the windows, staring out at the mass of land hovering before them. A frown settled over Aerrow's features. This floating terra reminded him too much of Cyclonia in its last days of power. It looked as though the very same antigravity crystal pontoons powered this terra's flight.

He exchanged a glance with Piper, who seemed to be thinking the same thing he was.

"Do you think this is safe?" Junko asked, voicing their thoughts. "Those pontoons look a lot like the ones on Cyclonia. What if these people were the ones who gave them to Master Cyclonis?"

Aerrow looked determined. "I don't know. Maybe they're common here. If these are the source of the pontoons, though, that just means we're one step closer to finding Cyclonis."

The team was silent for some time while Stork brought the Condor closer and maneuvered it into position alongside a sky dock. Several other airships, mostly freighters and patched cargo ships, were docked similarly all around the terra. Bright blue sky defied the cover of heavy clouds here, unlike the other terras they'd seen. On the surface, the ground was dusty and reddish and crossed with tire tracks, and clusters of buildings dotted the landscape. The whole place seemed to be a kind of hovering rest stop.

Finn scanned the terra appraisingly and shrugged. "Looks nice enough. Kind of like Terra Saharr."

The others nodded in agreement. "I don't think Cyclonia's pontoons came from this place," Aerrow said with relief. "You three," he went on, nodding to Junko, Finn and Piper, "go check the place out. Yes, you can eat while you're there. See what you can learn about anything that will help; the forbidden crystals, Cyclonis' location, a map of this world, whatever. For now I'll be under house arrest, and Stork, you can stay with the ship. Got it?"

Everyone nodded.

"Right." Aerrow smiled tightly. "Then let's go."

The team separated; Finn, Piper and Junko to the hangar bay, Radarr to the railing next to Stork, and Aerrow to his quarters with the door bolted.

Minutes later the recon team was heading to the surface on their Skimmers, their cerulean contrails marking their path from the Condor to the ground.

Stork took to checking the ship's controls, and Radarr fell asleep on top of the helm.

...

Aerrow sat against the wall on his bed, shirt in his lap, stitching a new red patch over the burned area on his uniform. Still he felt nothing strange, no ill effects of having a luminous crystal-snake fly into him. He was deeply disturbed by the idea nonetheless. It was bad enough having enemies with such strange creatures as allies, but this was another horror entirely.

He absently felt the place on his chest where the lightning had struck. Nothing remained of his burns but a slight sheen to the healed skin, and still there was no sign of alien presence. A small comfort.

He finished the last stitch in his shirt and held it up appraisingly. The new patch matched the ones over the shoulders in color, and the seam was satisfactory enough. He pulled the shirt back on and leaned against the wall.

How long did he have? Was the creature really killing him, right now, as he sat?

He rested his head back against the wall. He didn't want to consider such depressing ideas.

Aerrow slid off the bed and went over to his desk, shuffling through the pile of random items there until he found a decent pencil and his pad of paper. Then he returned to his seat.

Aerrow liked sketching.

Not many people knew it, and rarely did he have idle time to spend doing it, but nonetheless it was something he enjoyed more than much else.

He crossed his legs and stared at the paper for a moment, thinking. Then he began to draw.

...

Finn landed first, snapping in his Skimmer's wings and skidding to a stop, red dust billowing up from his tires.

Junko and Piper landed their skyrides on either side of him, and they rode from there into the cluster of buildings closest them, leaving their own tracks in the dirt behind them, a memory of their passage.

From here they could see the details of the place more clearly; twisting paths joined the scatterings of structures together, each group of buildings consisting of a few restaurants and diners, repair shops, secondhand stores, 'Speeder' rentals (none of the Storm Hawks were exactly sure what a Speeder was), and motels.

Sky docks ringed the terra all the way around, and most were occupied by the same beaten-up freighters they'd seen from the Condor.

The people they could see were mostly burly men, dressed in rough attire and worn boots, roaming the streets chatting gruffly and tending to their business.

A few other people were thrown into the mix as well; a lanky man in a vest walking with a bow-toting young woman with gray hair, a strangely familiar blonde lady and her son, a brightly dressed guy eating a sandwich on a bench to one side.

The Storm Hawks took all this in and parked their Skimmers at the edge of the street.

Piper addressed the boys, "Let's split up and cover as much ground as possible. We need to ask the people here what they know about Cyclonis and the forbidden crystals, and I need to find a map."

"After we eat, right?" Junko asked.

Finn nodded earnestly in agreement, and Piper sighed. "Yes, after we eat." she told them, and immediately they whooped and ran off toward the nearest diner, 'Clear Skies: Burgers and Fries'.

She laughed at their antics, shaking her head, and followed them at a more appropriate pace.

...

Back on the bridge, Radarr was snoring gently, draped over the helm, and Stork was fiddling with the environmental controls.

"You know, I've never really experimented much with this," he mused to Radarr, who, of course was still asleep. Stork rubbed his hands together mischievoulsy, a smile spreading over his face. "Now that all the Condor's systems are brand-new, maybe I should see what she's really capable of."

Stork reached out and twisted a dial with a sudden jerk, and the room temperature plummeted.

Every surface crackled as silvery frost sheeted it. Radarr woke with a startled chirp and rolled off the helm, landing on the floor with a thump. Stork chuckled, breath turning to white mist in the freezing air, and turned the dial the other way.

The temperature rose sharply, making the frost melt in a split second and slide to the floor in a curtain of water. Radarr squeaked. Heat waves radiated in blurry ripples from everything in the room, and the window cracked with the sudden pressure change.

"Oops," Stork grumbled, and turned the dial back to its regular position.

The temperature leveled out again and Stork went to the window, running a finger along the new crack. He sighed. Radarr jumped back up onto the helm and chirped scoldingly.

Stork was tempted to swat him across the room, but refrained.

Instead he muttered "I'll fix it later," and returned to the environmental board.

His finger hovered over the buttons and dials for a moment, undecided, and then he pressed a random button.

Gravity vanished.

Laughing crazily, Stork rose into the air, turning slowly upside down, and Radarr was lifted from his perch on the helm again. The furry blue creature crossed his arms indignantly as he floated toward the ceiling.

Stork pressed another button. He and Radarr dropped back to the floor ungracefully, and the oxygen was sucked from the room.

Stork grinned despite the lack of air in his lungs, watching Radarr flop dramatically onto the ground and clutch at his throat.

He pressed the button again and drew in a deep breath as oxygen returned.

"Isn't this fun?" he giggled.

Radarr chirped angrily and jumped up onto the control board, spreading his arms to keep Stork from pressing any more buttons.

The Merb sighed heavily in mock disappointment. "Fine," he groaned, and shuffled back to his place at the helm.

...

Aerrow sat patiently through the sudden environmental changes, letting Stork have his fun uninterrupted, and continued sketching.

At first the picture had seemed formless and random, but quickly it was taking shape and becoming more recognizable. For some time Aerrow sat, the image in his head transferring to paper through the strokes of his pencil, and in another several minutes he finished the last detail and looked over his work.

He'd drawn a scene full of action and emotion, the clash of good and evil in the skies above Atmosia.

Skimmers and warships dotted the paper, with bursts of lightning and weapons fire accenting the space in between. The great shadow of Terra Cyclonia in flight was visible in the background, and the small figures of he and his friends had weapons raised together in anticipation of battle.

One would think such a memory would be undesirable, but in Aerrow's case he wanted a reminder; something to call to mind their courage and their victory in the face of near-impossible odds. It gave him some encouragement when he found himself in similar situations. Like right now.

He smiled slightly, pleased at the outcome of his drawing, and set the pad and pencil aside.

...

Finn and Junko burst into the diner, startling the people seated inside, and rushed to the counter in record time.

A surprised employee came over. "Uh, can I help you?" she asked.

Junko glanced at the menu on the wall above her and said, "Um, yes, can I get two of the super-ultra-sized triple Sky Burgers with super-ultra-sized fries?"

The lady raised her eyebrows, nodded, and wrote down his order. Junko looked over his shoulder. "What do you want, Finn?"

The woman looked up, amazed and a bit disgusted. Finn stepped up, flashing the employee a wink and a smile, "Ah, yeah, I'll take the same," he told her.

She wrote down his order as well. "Just a second, please," she said, sounding as if she was trying very hard not to judge her two customers outrageoulsy, and disappeared through the swinging door to the kitchen.

Piper walked in then and joined the boys at the counter. "I hope you haven't bought the place out," she said wryly.

"Oh, no, of course not. We just got two of those," assured Junko, pointing to the menu.

"Two total, or two each?" Piper asked, dreading the answer.

"Two each," Finn replied with a grin.

Piper's jaw dropped. "Guys! Super-ultra-sized triple burgers? If you don't explode, you'll be sick for a week!" she exclaimed.

Finn shook his head. "No way. Junko and I can handle anything. And we haven't eaten since, like, yesterday."

Piper scoffed in exasperation. "When you start barfing all over the ship, don't say I didn't warn you," she retorted.

Junko smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

A second later the employee woman returned, carrying a pair of loaded trays. She set them on the counter with a grunt of effort, saw Piper, and looked fearful. "You don't want anything too, right?" she asked.

Piper saw the girl's expression and laughed. She shook her head. "No, thanks. I think they can share." She ignored Finn and Junko's scandalized looks.

The woman sighed in relief. "That'll be fifty-two thirty-five, then."

Junko and Finn's eyes widened. "Uh, well, you see..." Junko began, but Piper sighed and pushed past him, digging in her pocket. She came up with a handful of the clear crystal shards used for currency and laid them of the counter. "Is that enough?" she asked.

The employee counted quickly and nodded. "Yes, ma'am." Then she looked up at Finn and Junko and chuckled wonderingly. "You guys be careful, now. Those burgers aren't for the faint of stomach."

Finn grinned. "Don't worry. We're as tough as they come. Chicka-chah." He let himself think that the girl blushed in response.

Piper sighed and thanked the flustered lady, then the boys took their trays and the Storm Hawks sat down at a booth.

"Sometimes I wonder why I put up with you guys," Piper sighed, a touch of humor in her tone.

Junko shrugged helplessly. "Sorry! I was hungry!"

Finn offered, "Is it because we're funny and cute and wickedly handsome?"

Piper laughed and rolled her eyes. "That must be it." The guys grinned at one another and dug into their giant burgers.

Piper looked around the diner, as she hadn't had the opportunity walking in. The walls were clean and white and mostly occupied by windows, bright lamps with green shades hung from the ceiling, the booths were comfortable and a matching green color, and the room was spacious, though only a few customers sat at the tables.

She looked around at the people; about the same as they'd seen outside, mostly stocky sailors, a few others.

Wait.

One man looked familiar. She couldn't place him, but something nagged at the back of her mind, an answer infuriatingly out of reach.

Piper squinted across the room at him.

He was a broad-shouldered, handsome man, his dual-colored hair longer and more unkempt then she thought it should be, his short dark goatee grown into a beard...

Suddenly Piper remembered.

She'd seen this man once before, read about him in a number of books, and heard about his acts of heroism and his tragic death, when he was thrown from the edge of Terra Mesa by Repton himself.

But...that was impossible. He was dead.

It was unmistakable, though. "Guys," Piper whispered, and Junko and Finn stopped eating momentarily, "that's Hunter.

"Of the Interceptors."


	8. Hunter

Junko swallowed his mouthful of food. "The Interceptors?" he echoed, disbelieving.

"Starling's squadron?" Finn clarified. Piper nodded.

"But they're- they're gone!" the marksman exclaimed.

She shrugged helplessly, "Well, I thought so too, but, I mean, that's him!"

"How'd he get to the Far Side?" Junko asked.

Piper shrugged again, "I don't know! I need to talk to him." She started to stand, but Finn stopped her, "What if it isn't him? Or what if he's working with Cyclonis?" he inquired.

Piper answered determinedly, "Then you guys can come rescue me. I have to at least try." She pulled away and crossed the room to the man's table.

He knew she was there, but he kept his head bent over his food. Piper sat in the chair across from him and waited until he looked up. His eyes were duller than they'd been when she saw him all those years ago, and lines of stress and anger had carved themselves between his brows and around his mouth, but he was still Hunter.

He had to be.

"What?" he asked roughly. He had a faint English accent, and despite his rugged appearance his voice was young and smooth.

Piper's brows drew together, "Hunter?"

She saw a flicker deep in his gray eyes, and he searched her face intently before replying, "...Yes. Who are you? If you're working with Repton, I'll kill you."

Piper sighed with relief, "I'm Piper, of the Storm Hawks," at his bemused look she added, "The new ones. We reformed the old squadron. Unofficially, I mean, because the Council thought we're too young to be a real Sky Knight squadron. Anyway, Repton is dead."

Hunter nodded slowly. "What of the others?" he asked.

"The other...?"

"Interceptors. We were under attack when I was thrown from the terra. Corbin was gone, but the others were still fighting. Did they survive?" Hunter gripped the edge of the table intently.

"Starling survived," Piper answered, "We thought she was the only one, but...apparently not."

Hunter sighed, partly out of relief and partly sorrow. "Starling..." he echoed, "Our Sky Knight. She was always the strongest of us. How is she faring?"

Piper shrugged and looked out the wide window, "She's a loner. She's distanced herself from everyone else, says she doesn't need friends. Either way, she's a friend to us, and she's been a great ally in the war."

Hunter looked down at his hands. "Sounds like her. What war?"

Piper told him, "The war against the Cyclonians and Master Cyclonis. Things haven't changed much. We defeated her, but she fled through the door to the Far Side. We followed her in- the Storm Hawks, I mean."

He nodded. "This is the Far Side, then. I kind of suspected. You know of the Endless Tunnels?"

Piper nodded this time, and Hunter went on, "When I was thrown from Terra Mesa, I fell quite a ways, but I survived. Barely, granted, but I survived. I healed myself with the crystals I had with me- took about a day, I think- and then I went in search of water. I tried to climb the side of the terra, but I couldn't,"

Finn and Junko came and joined them silently, slipping into the other two seats at the table,

"I wandered the Wastelands for another day or so, my condition getting worse by the hour. I stumbled onto a cave then, a massive one. An entrance to the Endless Tunnels. It was partly filled with water, and it turned out to be drinkable. I followed the cave, having nowhere else to go, and it led far down. Deep down. Some areas were completely submerged, and there were twists and turns and forks in the path, and I followed it for a long time before I came out another cave. I didn't know where I was. A mountain somewhere.

"I left the cave and found a city, found some food and borrowed a Speeder- it's their Skimmers, I suppose- and I searched tirelessly for a way back to Atmos. The caves had been too treacherous for me to risk another trip, so I looked for other ways. I haven't found any yet."

"Dude..." Finn said.

Piper felt terrible pity for this man, lost and stranded alone in another world, and she said, "There is a way back. I think we can reopen the Door if we get the...the key. If there still is one. Until then, you can stay with us. We have a ship docked there." She pointed out the window.

Hunter's eyes flared bright, "I would be honored. If there is any chance to return to Atmos, I will take it."

Piper nodded, "Good. Right now we're still hunting Cyclonis. We were sent down here to gather information from anyone who might know where she is."

"Yeah, and find a way to get the critter out of Aerrow." Junko added.

Hunter raised his eyebrows, "I'll see what I can do to help." He stood up then, and the Storm Hawks followed him out of the diner. Piper glanced over at their table and saw Finn and Junko's plates cleared. She looked at Finn as they stepped out into the dusty street.

"Did you eat all that?" she demanded. Finn only grinned.

She rolled her eyes. Hunter stopped in the center of the road and the Storm Hawks gathered around. "Like I went over earlier," Piper said, looking to the boys, "You two are going to ask around about Cyclonis. I'm going to look for a map. Hunter...actually, I need to ask you about something."

Finn and Junko gave her a nod and left, cornering some random man and beginning to interrogate him.

Piper sighed and looked back to Hunter. "Have you heard of the Forbidden Crystals of Terra Dolos?" she asked.

Hunter nodded slowly, "I have read of them."

"Do you know what they do?" Piper went on.

"Most accounts say that the creature within each crystal can inhabit a person and control them when commanded to do so through the Forbidden Tablet." Hunter answered.

Piper froze. The blood drained from her face suddenly, and she nearly fell.

Hunter grabbed her shoulders and steadied her, "Piper." His warm voice was comforting somehow.

She blinked and took a breath, and he let her go. "Aerrow said he saw a- a ghost-like snake thing fly into him, from the crystal." she said, looking up to Hunter with fear in her eyes.

The Interceptor set his jaw grimly, "We will free him. We need to find the Forbidden Tablet and destroy it. Without the Tablet the crystal beast will have no reason to inhabit your friend, and it will leave."

Piper nodded. "You're sure?" she asked.

Hunter tilted his head, "Fairly."

Piper hugged herself, "That'll have to do. I think I know where the Tablet is, too."

Hunter said, "Really?"

She nodded and drew in a deep breath. "Master Cyclonis has it."

Hunter sighed. Piper went on, "She has to. That's why she wanted all those crystals, so she could control her enemies with them. And now Aerrow has one of those things in him...he could tear apart the ship! We've got to get back!"

Hunter nodded, "You go and take care of your friend. I'll find a map and meet you at your ship."

Immediately Piper took off running toward the Condor, calling over her shoulder, "Good luck!"

Hunter nodded once with a slight smile and headed off in the other direction.

...

At first Aerrow felt a slight tingling in his fingers. The sensation quickly grew to stinging pinpricks traveling up his arms.

Soon it flared into a burning, spreading through his chest and on to the rest of his body.

He didn't have time to react or call for help, only crumple to the metal floor of his quarters in pain and try to retain consciousness.

He breathed hard through clenched teeth, eyes shut tightly, trying to stand the fiery pain flooding his senses with his forehead pressed to the ground.

He managed a strangled groan and lay there helpless, black beginning to seep into his vision.

Slow seconds passed.

Then Aerrow felt the pain recede all at once, and with it went all control over his body. Aerrow felt himself stand.

He hadn't tried to stand. His body was acting without him.

He was trapped in his own mind, seeing the world through eyes that he couldn't control, and there was nothing he could do.

Aerrow- not Aerrow, but whatever was in control of his body- went to the window. His own face was reflected in the glass, but somehow it looked wrong.

Mouth set in a hard line, eyes empty of emotion and with irises blood-red, brows drawn together in something like anger. Aerrow didn't like it at all.

He stepped away from the window and went to the door, threw the bolt, and stepped into the hall as the door slid open automatically. He headed for the bridge.

...

The crystal beast had been called to action. It had felt the pain of the Crystal Tablet pulling at its mind, telling it what to do, and had done as told.

The creature had reluctantly climbed up into its host's head, curled up in his brain, and was manipulating the boy's actions through his weak human mind. The beast was hardly met with a challenge.

The tickling of the Crystal Tablet's influence remained in its own mind, and it would continue to nag until the Tablet's master stopped using it. Commands were sent directly from the Tablet to the creature and it obeyed, guiding the human wherever the Tablet master wished.

Right now, its mission was to destroy the unsuspecting beings on the ship's bridge- Stork and Radarr, two of the Storm Hawks.

...

Piper sprinted to her heliscooter, red dust clouds billowing behind her as she ran, hopped into the seat and fired the engine. She brought the bike around, throwing up a rooster tail of dust, and sped off toward the Condor's sky dock.

Cyclonis could take control of Aerrow whenever she wanted. She already could have. He could be destroying the ship right now as she rode to stop him!

This was very bad.

She had to reach the Condor and warn the others before it was too late.

What if it already was? Aerrow could have been compromised while they were away and had attacked the others.

Piper shook her head and gunned the engine even further, pushing such thoughts away. Right now she had to focus on the task at hand.

She reached the dock within moments, sped down the pier and up the Condor's ramp into the hangar. She parked her Skimmer with a screech of tires and gripped her staff, running to the door and waiting as it slid open.

Then she stepped through into the corridor, wound her way through the maze of hallways at top speed, and burst onto the bridge.

Just as she'd feared, Aerrow was already there.

* * *

A/N: Dun dun duh. Review and read on.


	9. Adara

When Piper leaped onto the bridge, she was met with a fearful sight.

Aerrow stood in the middle of the room, standing threateningly over a cowering Stork. When he whirled to face her his eyes were a deep red, glaring murderously at her with no trace of the Sky Knight she knew.

Radarr was in a furry blue heap against one wall, lying motionless.

Piper's hand went to her mouth.

Aerrow stepped away from Stork, who whimpered, and moved toward Piper. She backed against the door, which suddenly seemed unable to open, and raised her staff.

"Aerrow, you need to snap out of it. Cyclonis has the Crystal Tablet, it's controlling that little snake-monster inside of you. You can fight it. You have to! Take control! Aerrow!" Piper cried, growing more desperate as he neared.

His blood-red gaze was locked with hers, but her words seemed to have no effect.

Piper drew in a deep, steadying breath and jumped at him, swinging her staff with a slight hesitance that under other circumstances could have cost her the fight.

Aerrow dodged with superhuman speed, and Piper swung again. When he dodged this time she dropped low and swept his feet from under him.

Aerrow fell, rolled, and sprang back up to block her next strike. He lashed out on the offensive then, sending a kick at Piper's stomach, but she cartwheeled back and avoided it.

He kept pressing forward, firing punches at her head, and Piper did her best to avoid his assault. Several hits landed regardless, and she was forced to one knee, crying out in pain as his metal-backed fists connected with her temple.

Her staff clattered to the metal floor as she raised her arms protectively over her head. Aerrow took advantage and kicked her ruthlessly in the ribs, sending Piper gasping against the wall. "Please..." she coughed.

Aerrow just chuckled evilly. He knelt before her and pinned her shoulders against the wall. He spoke, in Aerrow's own voice but Master Cyclonis' words, "You don't stand a chance, Piper, my friend. Your feelings are getting in the way of your fighting. Or, maybe...you're just that helpless."

Aerrow's gloved hand crept to her throat and tightened viciously. Piper choked and grasped at his wrist uselessly. "Aerrow..."

He grinned and raised his fist in response.

Piper flinched, but his blow never came.

The weight was suddenly lifted from her throat, and she drew in a desperate breath and looked up. Stork had come flying across the room and tackled Aerrow from her, now yelling maniacally and slapping at him with little effect.

"Stork!" Piper called, and rose to her feet as Stork was thrown back with a squeal.

Aerrow started to push himself up, but Piper grabbed her staff and clocked him in the head before he could stand. He slumped back onto his face, unconscious, and Piper came and knelt beside him.

"Sorry," she whispered, as Stork joined her beside Aerrow.

"Care to explain...this?" he asked, pointing nervously to the Sky Knight on the floor.

Piper answered, "The crystal snake that attacked him is being controlled by Master Cyclonis. It can...possess him, I guess you could say."

Stork shivered, "I knew it."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Hopefully when he wakes up he'll be back to normal."

"Or he could be still possessed- and angry." Stork suggested.

She sighed, "Let's hope not." Then Piper looked over her shoulder, brows drawing together, "Is Radarr...?"

Stork waved a hand dismissively, "He's fine. Aerrow punched him across the room. It was kind of...funny, actually." he smiled slightly.

Piper scolded him, "Stork!"

The Merb shrugged apologetically. Then Aerrow let out a groan.

Piper's hand went to her staff. Stork squeaked and recoiled. The Sky Knight raised his head, rolling onto his side. He looked up at his teammates with emerald green eyes.

"Guys," he said immediately, "I'm sorry. I was trying to fight. That- that thing is just too strong. I can't control it. We need to find somewhere-"

"What we need," Piper cut in, eyes shining, "is to find Master Cyclonis and destroy that tablet before she can take control of you again."

"That would be nice." Stork mused.

"I don't want to have to...whack you in the head again." Piper said awkwardly.

Aerrow smiled, "Yeah, me neither. But we still don't know where Cyclonis actually is."

Piper looked away for a moment. "I know. We'll find her. Oh-" she looked back at Aerrow, "-On the surface, we met someone. A friend. Hunter."

Aerrow's brows drew together as he sat up with Piper's help. "Hunter?" he echoed.

She nodded, "Of the Interceptors."

"He's alive?" Aerrow exclaimed, "How? I thought the Raptors killed all the Interceptors."

Piper told him, "He survived the fall from Terra Mesa, healed himself with his crystals, and eventually found his way here through the Endless Tunnels."

"What if he's an imposter?" Stork pointed out, "He could be a Cyclonian in disguise, trying to get on the ship and destroy us one by one."

She gave him a hard look. "He could also be the real Hunter and turn out to be the best ally we have in this place." Stork still looked unconvinced.

Aerrow, however, said, "She's right. We'll be careful, but an ally with Far Side knowledge is exactly what we need right now."

Stork sighed dramatically and didn't grace them with a response.

Piper helped Aerrow stand. "Right now Hunter and the guys are asking around about Cyclonis. Hopefully they'll find something." she told him. Aerrow nodded once in agreement.

...

Hunter was currently standing across from the terra's mapmaker at a rough wooden counter. His forearms rested on the wood, bearing his weight as he leaned over with urgency. The woman on the other side of the counter was being maddeningly difficult (and flirtatious), whether intentionally or not he wasn't sure.

He'd only asked for a recent, inexpensive map of the known Far Side. He hadn't called it that, of course, for she wouldn't have known what he was talking about, but regardless she seemed intent on irritating him to no end with roundabout answers and excuses and really disturbing compliments.

For the hundredth time Hunter sighed, then demanded, "Do you even _have_ a map of this place?"

The redheaded young woman crossed her arms and pursed her full lips, seeming offended. Giving him the first straight answer since he'd arrived, she said, "Yes."

Hunter growled, "How much does it cost?"

Immediately he regretted asking.

A glint of mischief flashed in the lady's light eyes, and she pretended to consider a moment. Then she answered playfully, "A kiss."

Hunter scowled even deeper. "No. Give me a real price and I can pay."

She shrugged and leaned against the counter. Hunter straightened to keep his distance, and she said, "Do you want the map or not?"

He sighed and frowned, debating internally. His friends needed the map, but he absolutely refused to kiss anyone he:

a) didn't know

b) didn't trust

c) had been arguing pointlessly with for the past twenty minutes.

He had to get the map. But, he figured, they could always find another source. He sighed again, turned away from the counter, and said, "I guess I don't." He started to walk away.

Then the woman said quietly, in a very different tone, "Good."

Hunter turned back, confused, and the redhead beckoned him back to the counter.

He stepped over cautiously and she leaned close, coppery hair a curtain shielding her words from the outside world, "I'm sorry for the trouble. I had to make sure you're trustworthy. Follow me."

Hunter's gray eyes met her pale ones, and he nodded once. She pulled away from him and pushed through the door behind her. Hunter followed.

Beyond the door was a long room lined with shelves, wall to wall and floor to ceiling, all filled with maps. They were rolled into neat cylinders and tied with wire, stacked on top of one another in mountains of grayish paper. When Hunter entered, he stood in awe of the sheer number of them for a second before he looked to the redheaded girl.

"Did you make all of these?" he inquired.

She shrugged, "Most. There are some I traded for, some I found, some have been in my family for generations. There's a variety. Now, before I let you buy my map, tell me your name."

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Lukas." he lied.

"You're lying. What's your real name?"

"Finch."

"I'll give you one more chance."

"My name's Hunter."

"That's better. Next question. Why are you carrying a collapsible bow? Planning on ambushing someone?"

"None of your business."

"Incorrect."

"I used to be part of a Sky Knight squadron. Carrying a weapon is standard protocol. And bows are cool."

The girl smiled slightly at that. Then, "What's a Sky Knight?"

Hunter hesitated. After a second he answered, "Where I come from, there are squadrons of warriors that have formed to protect their terras from danger. Sky Knights usually lead these squadrons. They're highly trained fighters and extraordinarily honorable men and women."

"Are you a Sky Knight?"

"No."

The redhead nodded slowly. "Where exactly are you from, Mr. Hunter?"

"The other side of the world."

"Amazing," she breathed, "I have read of the Other Side of Atmos. I knew it wasn't just a myth."

"How do you know I'm telling the truth?"

"I just do."

"But I lied about my name."

"And I knew you were lying, didn't I? This time you aren't."

Hunter crossed his arms. "You are quite an interesting young lady."

"I'm assuming that's a compliment. Thank you, sir."

Hunter chuckled. "Sure. Now can I buy my map?"

"No."

"What?"

"I'm not finished interrogating you."

"But you've already decided I'm trustworthy, haven't you?"

"Yes. Why is your hair different colors?"

Hunter sighed. "It just is."

"But it's _purple. _And _black."_

"So?"

"That's not normal."

"Fine. Anything else?"

"How long have you been stranded here?"

Hunter sobered. "Stranded..."

"Yes, sir. You don't belong here. You look older than you are. I can tell. So, how long?"

"Almost four years."

The redhead spoke quietly, "I'm sorry."

Hunter shrugged. "I've found some friends that may be able to get me back home."

"Can I come?"

"Why would you want to do that?"

"I don't like it here."

"And why not?"

"Reasons." She changed topics quickly, "Do you own a Speeder?"

"I used to own a Skimmer. That's what we call them."

"Do you like dragons?"

"Dragons are extinct."

"Only where you come from. You've seen the towers, haven't you? They're guarded by dragons."

"Oh."

"What happened to the rest of your Sky Knight squadron?"

Hunter looked away. "They're all dead. Except Starling."

The redhead spoke softly, "What happened?"

He waited a moment before answering. "We were ambushed by the Raptors. They're rogues, vicious and willing to work for whoever pays them the most. We weren't prepared."

"How did you survive?"

"I was thrown from the edge of the terra, and I lived. I was the team's crystal expert as well as the ranged fighter, so I improvised with what I had and healed myself."

"Amazing..." her light eyes grew wide in admiration.

Hunter frowned. "Not really."

"Who is Starling?"

"She's my...well, she was our Sky Knight. I guess not anymore, since the squadron is gone, but she used to be."

"There's something else, isn't there?"

"What?"

"She was more to you than just a leader, Mr. Hunter."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Did you love her?"

"We were hardly fifteen!"

"You didn't answer my question."

Hunter glared, clenched his jaw, glanced away, and then said, "I don't know."

The redhead studied his face. "Okay." She turned and stepped between two shelves, rifled through a pile of papers, and came up with a single map. She came back to Hunter and handed it to him. "Here is your map, sir. Pleasure doing business with you." she said.

He frowned. "Don't I have to pay?"

The redhead shrugged, "You already have, in a way. It's been awhile since I met someone as honorable as you. Or as interesting. Good luck getting home, Mr. Hunter." She started to disappear into the maze of shelves.

Hunter called after her, "Hey, wait. What's your name?"

"Marie."

"You're lying."

"And you're learning. My name is Adara."

"Thank you for your help, then, Adara."

"Anytime." And she was gone from sight.

* * *

A/N: Not much happened, I know, but my ideas are coming slow these days. I haven't given up, though. Review and read on soon!


	10. Tension

Mere minutes after Hunter left Adara's shop, he and the Storm Hawks were back on the Condor and holding a meeting. The seven of them stood around the round table on the bridge, Stork as far from Hunter as possible, and Aerrow was speaking.

"Alright. Did anybody find some useful information?" he asked.

"I got a map." Hunter offered, spreading it over the table. Aerrow nodded once and looked to the boys.

Junko said, "Uh, we found some people that said they saw Cyclonians flying over the terra earlier."

"Yeah," Finn put in, "And some super-hot chicks who were totally into me. I could've sworn I've seen one of them before, though..."

"Anyway," Aerrow interrupted, "Good job, guys. Which way were they flying?"

"North." said Junko with a triumphant grin.

"Alright. Stork, take us north. Hunter, if you would, you and Piper help him out with that map."

Hunter and the Storm Hawks he'd addressed nodded and did as told, and Aerrow directed, "Be on the lookout for any signs of Cyclonian activity."

...

Half an hour later, Stork's wavering voice came from the helm. "Uh, does this count as Cyclonian activity?" He pointed nervously out the front windows. Everyone looked up and followed the line of his slender green finger to the terra they were approaching.

There, the surface seemed to writhe and move on its own, so completely covered was it by vehicles and people dressed in the red and dark green of Cyclonia.

Twin cruisers, deep red and ribbed with silver supports, were tethered next to each other at a jagged sky dock protruding from the dark terra's face. Talons and Nightcrawler warriors milled over the black stone land, carrying out orders, surely, from Master Cyclonis herself.

In the center of it all stood a tower, its sides crumbling, once tall and regal but now decrepit and scarred by time and war. Its every surface was rock as black as the night, highlighted with veins of lava red and pocked with cracks and ugly dents.

A lone dragon circled above, a sole protector, endlessly carving its rounds in the sky above the structure, and weak light shone from the lowest levels of the tower where Cyclonians were taking shelter. Flame licked across the ground in the distance seemingly at random.

The scene was remarkably depressing on more than one level, and the Storm Hawks each felt a chill creep up their spine as they looked upon it.

"Whoa." Finn was the first to speak.

"Uh, yeah, definitely Cyclonians." Junko confirmed.

Aerrow stepped up to the window, expression determined. "Let's go take down Cyclonis." he said. A hint of a smile pulled at his lips. Piper's brows drew together with worry. Take down? They were only here to take her into custody...

Aerrow sounded as if he was getting a little carried away with their mission.

Pipe shook her head to clear it and joined him at the window. She had better things to worry about right now. Aerrow turned his gaze to her.

"I'll bet Master Cyclonis is in the tower. We need a plan to get in there, get her, and get out. I'll let you work out the details." he said shortly, and stepped away to the center table.

Aerrow rested his fists on the tabletop and addressed his team. "Stork, I want you to stay here with Piper, Radarr and Hunter and keep the Condor ready to fly in case of trouble. Junko, Finn, you're with me. As soon as Piper's got a plan we'll have a briefing and take flight. Got it?"

The Storm Hawks nodded in return, Radarr leaping up onto Aerrow's shoulder with a pleased chirp.

"Aerrow, you're still unstable." Piper pointed out then. "Are you sure you can do this?"

"It doesn't matter whether I'm sure. Cyclonis has to be brought to justice." he replied, straightening up.

"But what if you lose control in the middle of the mission and blow your cover? That place is crawling with Cyclonians. They'd have you captured in a second!" Piper cried, taking an emphatic step forward.

Finn and Junko, sensing trouble, shrank away from their teammates. Stork was already standing a bit more nervously than usual by the helm. Radarr whined and jumped over to Junko's shoulder, where it was safer.

"That's a risk we'll have to take." Aerrow countered.

"But it isn't! Stay here and Stork and Hunter can keep an eye on you. I'll go instead. Everything is riding on this mission, Aerrow. You can't risk compromising us." Piper gestured with one hand as she spoke.

"This is personal, Piper! I have to go." Aerrow stepped forward, upset.

"At least let me come with you, then."

No. I don't want something bad happening to you, again, because of me. I'm going."

"You can't. I won't let you."

"You can't do that! I'm in charge here!"

"I still have authority."

"No, you don't! You're just the navigator, Piper. That's all! You have no authority!" Aerrow closed the distance between them, looking down on Piper only inches away as he spoke. His face was flushed with irritation. The boys gasped, and he ignored them.

"'Just the navigator'?" Piper's voice grew dangerously soft. Her eyes met his, and Aerrow could see deep hurt and anger reflected in their amber depths. He knew he'd just made a big mistake. He wished he could just snatch back his words from the air, but what was said was said and he couldn't change it. Even so, he tried to apologize,

"Well, no, I didn't mean- you're not just- Piper, come on, that's not what I meant."

The rest of the team stood stock-still, not wanting to interrupt. Hunter looked quite uneasy, as if he wanted to say something, but he kept his mouth shut.

Piper just held Aerrow's gaze for a long time, staring coldly into his regretful emerald eyes. She could see his desperate apology written all over his face, but all she felt was emptiness and hurt.

Just the navigator.

She'd spent years with Aerrow, gone through so much, conquered impossible challenges, grown to love him dearly, and he thought of her as nothing more than 'the navigator.' That really and truly disappointed her so, so much. She felt tears come to her eyes and scolded herself for acting so ridiculous. He was just a stupid teenage boy, she tried to convince herself. A kind, bright, caring, funny, strong, handsome, _stupid_ boy.

She knew it was useless, though. He had no excuses.

Piper held his gaze a heartbeat longer, then whispered, "I'll have your plans ready in an hour." And she turned and stalked from the bridge. Aerrow was left standing guiltily in the middle of the room.

The tension lingered, and then Finn said, "Dude, you really goofed this time."

Aerrow sighed heavily and ran both hands through his hair. "I know." he answered miserably.

"Shouldn't you go talk to her?" Junko asked weakly.

Aerrow shook his head. "Leave her alone for awhile. She needs space." he said.

Hunter opened his mouth to say something, changed his mind, and perched on the edge of the center table, arms crossed. He blew a long strand of violet hair out of his eyes. _I need a haircut_, he thought, and then nearly laughed aloud. He was worrying about haircuts when his- not his, exactly, but his allies'- team was in this tense a situation. Still, it was true.

His hair, violet on top and black on the sides, reached his chin and tangled in wavy knots. While he was part of the Interceptors, he'd had a neat, cool-looking style, with shaved sides and a spiky untamed top. Since that fateful day when the Raptors attacked, he'd let it grow out of control.

His whole appearance, as a matter of fact, had become messy and rugged since then. Perhaps it was time to change back to his old looks, for the sake of continuity. It may help him better adjust to being a part of the team, even.

But anyway, now wasn't the time to be thinking about switching styles. He was part of perhaps the most important mission the Storm Hawks had ever faced. Not a big part, granted, but he was still involved.

Well, why couldn't he be a major part?, he asked himself suddenly. If the navigator wanted somebody to keep an eye on the Sky Knight, there was always him. The Storm Hawks didn't trust him fully yet, granted, but who else was there? Hunter really doubted that Piper would leave the fate of Atmos in the hands of the Wallop and the squirrelly kid.

She seemed to trust them, though. Hunter decided to let the matter rest this time. The Storm Hawks didn't need a newcomer encroaching on their mission right now. At the moment, there wasn't much to do but wait. Aerrow was ordering Finn and Junko, "Prepare to fly, guys. We've got to be ready to go as soon as possible."

The slouchy Merb and the blue lemur-rabbit creature took seats near the control board. Hunter stayed where he was as the boys left the bridge for the hangar bay. Then Aerrow glanced at each of them before he said, "Stay here. Radarr, Stork, keep an eye on him." He jerked a thumb toward Hunter, who tried not to be offended. Aerrow then followed Finn and Junko out.

As soon as the door slid shut, Stork looked to Hunter, eye twitching. "Are you working for Master Cyclonis? Here to infiltrate our team and tear us apart from the inside? Hmm?"

Hunter frowned. "No."

"Then...are you really a shapeshifting crystal monster who's here to kill us all?"

"Nope."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure."

"I still don't trust you." Stork crossed his arms and perched on the edge of the control board, keeping a narrow-eyed stare on Hunter, who just sighed.

...

Piper sat at her desk in her room, staring at the sheet of gray paper in front of her. She was having trouble coming up with a really solid plan, not to mention warring emotionally over Aerrow's insensitive outburst. She couldn't focus.

What was there to plan, anyway? The guys had to go in, capture Cyclonis, and get out. That was it.

Piper crossed her arms and sat back in her creaky metal chair. They didn't need a plan. They didn't need her. She remembered the time she'd pretended to leave them, then spied on them to gauge their reactions. What if she left for real this time? Aerrow would never forgive himself, she knew.

Or wouldn't he?

Piper sighed and buried her head in her arms.

Who cared? She was _just the navigator_, after all.

Another part of her mind spoke up then. Aerrow had been upset. He wasn't thinking about what he was saying. He probably hadn't meant it in an offensive way, he was just irritated. Piper was completely overreacting. She'd made a big deal out of nothing, and now everyone was upset.

She sighed again, but this time more relieved than despairing. She would apologize to Aerrow when she saw him next. They'd iron out this whole stupid issue and go on like they'd always had, a near-perfect team. That was a better plan than going on with terrible friction between them. Piper nodded to herself and bent over the paper again, determined.

...

For the next hour, Aerrow cleaned and repaired his Skimmer and his energy daggers, sitting against the wall of the hangar bay while Finn and Junko prepared similarly across the room.

They left him alone with his tumultuous thoughts and the pit in his stomach, trying to focus on the task at hand rather than his harsh words earlier. As soon as he'd shouted at Piper he'd regretted it. He hadn't meant the statement in such a way, but it had come across all wrong and wounded his relationship with the most reliable member of his team.

He needed to smooth things over before he left, Aerrow knew, or he'd have a heck of a time trying to concentrate with such a burden on his mind. He pulled his Timepulse indicator from his pocket and checked the time. Nearly an hour had passed already. Piper would be delivering her plans momentarily, and then he and the boys would be off. He had to do something now.

Aerrow drew in a deep breath, sighed, and pushed himself up from his seat on the floor. "I'll be right back," he told Finn and Junko, who looked up curiously and nodded. Aerrow sheathed his newly polished daggers and left the hangar bay through the single sliding metal door. He started off through the maze of corridors toward Piper's quarters.

...

Piper stood, rolled up the sheet of paper with her freshly inked plans, and stepped out into the hall heading for the hangar bay. She checked her Timepulse indicator crystal. Right on time.

...

Aerrow and Piper strode through the ship, heading in opposite directions, each with unease on their minds and apologies ready on their lips. They rounded corners, walked corridors, and turned around the final bend at the exact same time, colliding with one another with a startled yelp on Piper's part and a move toward twin daggers on Aerrow's.

When they took a heartbeat to assess the situation they both calmed. Aerrow let out a sigh and let his hands drop from his dagger handles. Piper straightened from her defensive stance cleared her throat.

"Sorry." she said weakly.

"Uh, no, that's okay." Aerrow shrugged.

Then they met each other's eyes, amber to green, and unsaid words and emotion passed between them. Both Storm Hawks had deep apology written over their features. Aerrow was the first to speak.

"Piper, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted at you, and what I said was uncalled for, and I really didn't mean it the way you think. I didn't. You're so much more to me than just a navigator."

Piper's eyes shined with emotion, "I know you didn't. I'm sorry too, Aerrow. I overreacted. A lot. This is my fault."

"It's not, Piper, really. I think we've got to share the blame on this one." He smiled hesitantly.

Piper felt a smile of her own start to spread, and she burst into relieved laughter. For some reason tears filled her eyes. Aerrow stepped up to her and embraced her tightly. She hugged him back, enjoying the relief and happiness flooding through her and the simple feeling of Aerrow's arms around her. They stayed that way for a time, neither really wanting to end the moment of warmth and security they shared.

Finally, though, Aerrow pulled away, his hands still at Piper's shoulders, and said, "I should get back to the hangar. It's almost time to go. Do you have your plans ready?"

Piper sighed, a bit disappointed. She felt a strange desire to stay with Aerrow here, together, with nobody bothering them, but she knew it was a silly thing to long for.

She answered, "Yes," She held up the rolled paper still in her hand, slightly crumpled where she'd been holding it tightly. She half-smiled, embarrassed. "Here."

His hands fell from her shoulders as he took it from her, and he nodded without unrolling the paper. Piper noticed he didn't double-check her plans, and a warm feeling of gratitude bloomed in her. It was a small sign of his trust in her, she knew, and she appreciated it.

"Thanks," Aerrow said, then paused. "You know, I guess you can come if you want. I'd rather you not, but, I mean...if you need to keep an eye on me...I- I mean my condition." He sighed, frustrated at his awkwardness, "If you need to make sure I don't lose control, I won't stop you. That's what I meant."

Piper laughed, "I know what you meant, and...I'll stay here. You said before, you don't want anything bad happening, so I'll- I'll trust you on this one. And I'll trust Junko and Finn to make sure you don't get us killed."

Aerrow held her gaze for a moment, unsure. Then he nodded, "Okay. Thanks, Piper." He glanced behind him, down the corridor. "Now come on, we've got to get going. The Cyclonians on the surface may have spotted us already. We need to move fast."

Piper nodded once in agreement, and they took off toward the hangar.

* * *

A/N: So, how was it? Lots of stupidity, I know, but give an author a break. Review and read on soon!


	11. Surprise Attack

When Aerrow and Piper reached the hangar, Junko and Finn were already sitting astride their vehicles, ready to ride.

"It's about time, dude." Finn whined.

Aerrow grunted in response and hit the big red button next to the door. The bay doors groaned open at the command, and Junko laughed, "Yeah-hah!"

Aerrow moved toward his Skimmer and climbed on, the light frame bending slightly beneath his weight. He fired the engine, and a throaty roar blasted from his vehicle. A rhythmic vibration rumbled into his body from the machine, and Aerrow grinned. He always loved the sensation of riding his Skimmer, on the ground or in the air. Today was no exception.

The boys started their motorcycles as well, and the hangar bay rang with the sound of the three noisy engines. The Storm Hawks exchanged a glance, Aerrow nodded, and Finn and Junko sped into the air. A split second after their Skimmers' tires left the ground, distinct X-shaped wings snapped out with metallic clicks and the vehicles swooped up gracefully.

Aerrow didn't leave just yet. He turned in his seat to look over at Piper. She moved to his side and said firmly, "You'd better make it back, Sky Knight- with Cyclonis."

She held his gaze for a heartbeat, hesitated, and then leaned in and kissed him gently. Aerrow's gut twisted and he gasped against her lips, startled. He felt her fingers trace along his jaw with a slight hesitance and an electric chill ran down his spine. He felt his own hand rise to hers, and he leaned in a fraction closer. He heard Piper sigh softly. Then she pulled away, a deep blush dusting her cheeks and her midnight blue bangs brushing his face lightly.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking," she said, and turned away, but Aerrow caught her hand. "It's alright." he replied gently, his own face heating up. She smiled weakly, and he gave her a lopsided grin. "I'll be fine. And I'm going to get Cyclonis. You stay safe, too, Piper." He prompted her with a nod, and she returned it.

Aerrow held her embarrassed gaze for a second, then let her hand go and gripped his Skimmer's handlebars. "I'll be back soon." he assured her. Then he settled back into his seat, gunned his Skimmer's engine, and took off with a joyful whoop. A second later he'd joined Finn and Junko in the sky. The blond marksman gave Aerrow a mischievous grin.

"So, you and Piper, huh?" he teased.

Aerrow grunted and replied, "Oh, shut up."

Junko pulled up to Aerrow's other flank and laughed. Aerrow scowled with mock irritation. He knew the guys were just joking with him. He pulled ahead and addressed the team on a different subject, "Head on down, guys. Circle the tower, find a way in. I'll join you in a second." The boys nodded and took their Skimmers down closer to the surface, pulling into a tight turn around the dark tower.

Aerrow spread the paper with Piper's plans between his handlebars, the corners flapping wildly in the chill wind, and took his first look at it. Drawn in black ink was a representation of the tower and the surrounding land, with labels written and arrows drawn from one point to another. He read over the neatly printed notes, committed the drawings to memory as best as he could, and rolled the gray paper back up tightly. He then stored it in Radarr's cockpit behind him and gripped his handlebars, following Finn and Junko down to the tower.

Finn suddenly waved his arm to get their attention and pointed to a wide crack in the side of the tower. Aerrow nodded, understanding. He knew he could get his Skimmer through the foreboding crevice if he retracted his wings at the right moment. He wasn't so sure about the others. Either way, he needed to act fast.

On the surface he could see a stirring travel through the nearby Cyclonians, and a few fingers pointed upward at the shapes of the Storm Hawks' vehicles. Aerrow glanced over to where the Condor had been idling. To his relief, Stork had taken it out of view somewhere. He scanned the land nearby for any telltale signs of the carrier ship, but it had been hidden well. Aerrow nodded to himself, pleased at his team's work, and then looked to the boys.

He pulled his Skimmer out away from the tower and aligned it with the crack in the dark outer wall. He intended to launch through the gap and, according to the plan, travel through the inside of the tower to the base where the Cyclonians had set up shop. Finn and Junko saw what he was planning and moved to the sides out of his way. Aerrow steeled himself, narrowed his eyes with focus, and fired his engine.

His Skyride shot forward streaming cerulean flame from its afterburners, and Aerrow waited for the precise second to pull up on his clutch lever and snap in his Skimmer's wings. He cleared the gap with inches to spare and landed smoothly inside the tower. The stone floor of the higher level groaned and cracked under the unexpected weight. Aerrow guided his Skimmer carefully to one side, avoiding the widest cracks in the floor, and waited for the boys to enter the tower.

He reached behind him and pulled Piper's plans from his Skimmer's second cockpit, tucking them into his belt. Then Aerrow settled back in his seat and took a look around while he waited. Most of the room was pitch black, but toward the outer walls sickly orange light filtered through the crevices in the floor. The space was made of a lighter stone than the outside, more of a basalt gray than deep black, but it was still dark and imposing. Aerrow didn't like it one bit, but he could well imagine Master Cyclonis being right at home in this desolate place.

Aerrow heard a rumbling roar come from the outside, and a second later Finn and his Skimmer came shooting through the gap, barely missing the jagged edges. The marksman landed shakily and had to swerve to a stop to avoid losing his balance, then raised a fist over his head and bragged, "Yeah-hah! Finn here, master pilot." Aerrow just rolled his eyes and kept his gaze on the gap, waiting for Junko. He didn't have to wait long.

He heard the Wallop gun his engine and a second later he came flying at the gap, clipping the rocky sides clumsily and spiraling into an uncontrolled tumble. Aerrow winced as his friend yelled and hit the rocky floor a split second before his Skimmer landed a few feet away and spun out onto its side, smoke trailing from its engine. Junko pushed himself up with a grunt and Finn asked him, "Dude, you okay?"

Junko straightened, shook his head to clear it, and laughed, "Yeah! That was fun."

Finn raised an eyebrow, incredulous. Aerrow spoke up, "Well, okay then, let's get moving."

He unrolled Piper's plans again and checked the next step. They had to get down to the lower floors, where the Cyclonians were. He looked back up to the boys.

"We've got to find a way down to the bottom floors. Stairs, ladders, giant holes in the floor, whatever works." he said, and Finn and Junko nodded. The three of them dismounted and spread out, searching the walls and the floor for a way down.

After a moment Finn called, "There's a trapdoor here, but it looks rusted shut."

The other two Storm Hawks joined him where he stood, surrounding the square metal door in the floor. It did indeed seem rusted shut, with reddish clumps gluing the sides of the door to its frame, and in addition it looked quite heavy. Aerrow and Finn looked to Junko, who grinned and held up his fists. His knuckle busters flashed silver. He clapped them together and they flared green, and with a shout Junko reached down and tore the metal door out of its frame, throwing it to the side with a resounding clatter.

Aerrow and Finn turned to him, "Shh!"

He shrugged and smiled sheepishly, "Sorry!" He'd figured they'd already made so much noise coming in, there wasn't much else he could mess up by being loud.

Aerrow leaned over the opening and squinted down into the darkness. "I can't tell how far down it goes." he said.

Finn and Junko looked into the hole as well. "So what are we going to do?" Junko inquired.

Aerrow straightened and gave them a sly smile. Then he drew his daggers, activating them with a click and a blue flash, and he leaped into the dark doorway without a word. His teammates watched the bright glow of his daggers dim the farther Aerrow fell.

"Well, that works." Finn shrugged. Then they saw the blades' cyan light steady, and the boys heard their leader call back up, "Come on, guys. It's a bit of a drop, so be careful." Junko and Finn exchanged a fearful glance, sighed, and then dropped through the hole one after the other.

Finn landed first on one knee and Junko came tumbling after, crashing into his friend and sending the marksman to his face on the floor under the great weight. His crossbow clattered across the stone floor, and Finn groaned, "Ouch."

Junko laughed sheepishly and picked himself off of his blonde friend. "Sorry."

Finn sighed and pushed himself to his feet with a grunt, "Yeah."

Aerrow stood by, looking awkward and a little worried. When both of his teammates brushed themselves off and looked to him, Aerrow nodded to himself and turned to peer around the room.

It was dark, but by the blue glow of his daggers he could see well enough. The floor and walls were the usual near-black stone, rubble lined the walls and lay scattered around on the ground, and hairline cracks ran under the Storm Hawks' feet and up the walls and ceiling. There, above them, was a jagged-edged hole where they'd dropped through, and another level above that was the trapdoor opening. A rusting iron door stood firmly at one wall, shut and secured with a padlock.

Overall, the place seemed about as safe and inviting as a sky shark's hunting grounds.

Aerrow looked back to Finn and Junko. "That door's the only exit, aside from where we just came from. Junko, think you can get it open?" he asked.

Junko grinned and knocked his knuckle busters together. They flared green, and the Wallop moved over to the door, gripped its frame, and tore it from its hinges with a grunt of effort. He set it down gently this time, laying it carefully against the wall to one side.

Aerrow and Finn joined him at the door. "Nice job," Aerrow complimented, and they all stepped through the doorway. Aerrow held one dagger high for light as they descended a crooked, crumbling stone staircase that seemed to follow around the outside of the tower.

They walked on, trying not to trip on the jutting pieces of rock protruding from every other step. After circling the tower four times (Aerrow was keeping track of their position in his head), they reached relatively level ground and followed a dark hallway for a few steps until their path ended at a second iron door, this one in much better condition than the one on the upper level.

Aerrow reached the door first and pressed his ear to it. He could hear voices on the other side, a few vaguely familiar, all definitely Cyclonian. He glanced at the boys and whispered, "Cyclonians." They nodded. Aerrow came away from the door and went on in a whisper, "You two keep them occupied while I find Cyclonis. Try not to get captured. I'll go around along the wall and slip by the Talons, then get Cyclonis and we'll run for it."

Finn held up a finger, "Is there an escape route? We can't really just use the front door, there's kind of an evil army out there..." he pointed out quietly.

Aerrow hesitated. He pulled the paper with the plans from his belt and unrolled it. Piper had drawn just such an escape route, or at least pointed out a few possible exits. There was a wide crack in the outer wall a few levels above them, a second ground-level door, a couple of windows near the top. None of the exits looked really promising, but they were better than nothing.

Aerrow passed the paper to Finn and Junko, and they read over it. Aerrow could tell by their expressions they were just as doubtful as he was. He sighed. The boys passed the plans back to him, and he rolled the sheet up and tucked it into his belt again.

"Ready?" Aerrow whispered, his pulse quickening.

The boys nodded determinedly, Finn gripping his crossbow tight, Junko raising his fists to the ready. Aerrow set his jaw, turned to the door, and ordered, "Then let's go."

He slashed the door's lock with a glowing blade and kicked it open.

* * *

A/N: Sorry I'm late posting. How was the chapter? Review and read on soon!


	12. Impossibility

When the three Storm Hawks burst through the door, the Cyclonians in the room beyond all fell silent in surprise. Aerrow sheathed his daggers and slipped into the shadows near the wall as Junko and Finn ran at the closest Talons, yelling wildly and drawing as much attention as possible.

Aerrow ran in a crouch around the perimeter of the room, sticking to the shadows and looking the place over as he went. The walls and ceiling were much more sturdy than the ones on the upper levels, and the roof was twice as high. There must have been two hundred Cyclonians carrying metal crates, milling around the room or just standing guard. To the left of the door the Storm Hawks had entered through, against the wall, stood a raised stone platform with stairs leading up to it, similar to the dais the Far Side door was fixed to.

On that platform stood Master Cyclonis. Her crystal staff was gripped in one slender hand, the lava-colored stone at its tip glowing and flashing tumultuously. She had a new cloak, just like her original one, and its spiky hood was unfurled about her narrow shoulders. Her back was turned to Aerrow and the Cyclonians. She was standing before a masssive blue-green crystal, its core swirling with light as she aimed her staff at it. Whatever she was doing, it couldn't be good. She was ignoring the ruckus behind her, concentrating on the big crystal.

Aerrow's gut twisted with hatred just looking at the young empress. She was the reason for all the grief Atmos had been through lately, the reason the Storm Hawks were here on the Far Side, the reason Aerrow was battling the influence of a snake-monster inside of him. She was responsible, and she would pay. Aerrow crept forward further, gripping the long handles of his daggers and drawing them silently from their place across his back. He could disarm Cyclonis easily if she didn't see him coming.

Aerrow glanced back at his teammates. Finn and Junko were fighting back-to-back amidst a sea of Cyclonian Talons, and they were doing a good job holding off the weak soldiers considering the sheer number of them. They couldn't last forever, though, he knew. He had to move quickly.

He reached the stone platform and bounded lightly up the steps, landing carefully only a few feet from Master Cyclonis. He took a deep breath, pulse pounding in his ears, and leaped forward, activating his daggers mid-jump and swinging them in twin arcs at Cyclonis' knees.

A split second before his blades met their mark, Cyclonis whirled around with a furious hiss and knocked the daggers away with her staff. "Sky Knight," she addressed him, "How nice to see you again." She twirled her metal rod and smacked him in the chest with it, sending Aerrow stumbling back. He coughed, straightened, and told her, "I'm bringing you to justice, Cyclonis, once and for all."

She chuckled at that and unclipped her cloak, letting it fall to the ground around her feet, "Of course you are."

Aerrow scowled, and she continued, "Let's see how well you fight when I do...this." Cyclonis laid a hand on the crystal at the butt end of her staff, a flat, blood-red one, and a hot burst of pain assaulted Aerrow. His daggers clattered to the floor and he dropped to his knees, crying out in pain. A cruel smile spread over Master Cyclonis' features.

"You can't stop me, Aerrow. No one can. Especially when I harness the power of this crystal." she motioned with a sweep of her arm to the blue-green stone behind her. "It's alright, though. Pretty soon, you'll be completely under my control. The little beast inside of you will see to that." She chuckled softly again and raised her staff.

The red crystal glowed bright, and Aerrow felt his control over his body begin to slip away as it had before, that time in the Condor's brig. Darkness encroached on his vision as the pain shooting through him intensified, and soon he slumped to the hard ground, unconscious.

...

Junko sent another Talon to the ground with a fist to the gut, turned, and threw a second off of Finn's back. The marksman shouted, "Thanks, man!" while he loaded another paralyzer bolt into his crossbow and fired. A Cyclonian froze in mid-step and fell stiffly onto his back. Finn repeated the same fluid motion time and again, load and fire, load and fire, and rows of enemy soldiers fell unable to move.

Junko swung his fists in wild arcs, taking out Talons left and right without even looking, his knuckle busters glowing green the entire time. Both Storm Hawks were going strong, but both were steadily tiring (and running out of ammunition). The Cyclonians, on the other hand, kept on coming.

...

Seconds after Aerrow fell, he awoke, experiencing the familiar disturbing feeling of helplessness as his body was controlled by another being. Master Cyclonis stood over him, smirking, and he rose onto his knees and lifted his head slowly until his gaze reached hers. "You were just as little a challenge as I had expected." she said, and turned away from him.

She sauntered up to the blue-green crystal and stroked its surface as she spoke to Aerrow, "You were planning to capture me, then, and take me back to Atmos? Did you really think you would succeed? Really, three dim-witted Storm Hawk children, breaking into a Cyclonian stronghold and taking _me _into custody? You are even more silly and misguided than I thought.

"A shame, really... I had hoped I wouldn't have to destroy you to get you out of my way, but...you've forced my hand." Her voice dropped to hardly above a whisper, and she turned back to Aerrow.

"I _was_ a bit curious to see where your, mm, _relationship_ with the navigator would lead. Would it cause a rift in your team, disturb your efficiency? Or maybe bring you all closer together, and make you a bit more formidable. Oh, yes, I know all about what's been going on between you, Aerrow. You think these crystals are only for controlling people? Those little crystal beasts, everything they see, I see. It's very...amusing, actually." Cyclonis chuckled.

Aerrow wanted so much to be able to stand and swat Cyclonis across the face, but he couldn't move by his own will. As it was he just fumed and raged in his mind uselessly, struggling against the wall of mental fog that prevented him from taking control of his body.

Master Cyclonis came back to stand in front of him and reached down to lift his chin with a finger. "Maybe I'll keep you alive," she mused, studying his blank face, "You may prove useful."

Aerrow could do nothing but stare back at her. He kept fighting, though, in his mind. She let him go and crossed her arms, looking out over the rest of the room. "Ah, yes, it looks like your friends have failed as well. What shall I do with them? Throw them from the top of the tower? Keep them to rot in prison? Oh, so many options. I'll have to think about that."

Aerrow willed himself to move with all his might, using the sheer force of his mind to try to overcome the crystal beast. He felt heat flare into his face with effort, but nothing was happening. Cyclonis glanced back at him, her dark brows drawing together in confusion, "What are you doing? You can't overpower the beast within you, Sky Knight, no matter how hard you try."

Aerrow ignored her words and strained against the restraints in his mind even harder. A dull pain erupted in his head, but he kept fighting, sweat breaking out on his forehead. He threw himself against the walls that kept him from control, and he willed the crystal beast out of his head with everything he had. The pain grew sharper, but Aerrow persisted.

Cyclonis' eyes widened, and she reached for the blood-red crystal on her staff again. With one last desperate shove against his mental barriers Aerrow felt something click in his mind, and he stood and wrenched Cyclonis' staff from her grasp before she could reach the red crystal. "No! Impossible!" she shrieked, stumbling back against the blue-green stone behind her.

Aerrow swung her crystal staff at the ground, and when the blood-red gem struck the ground it shattered. He heard the crystal beast shriek, and within a second he saw it worm its way out of his chest, an ugly, snaky, translucent little thing. It shot away from him and its image dissipated into the air. He could suddenly breathe much more easily.

Master Cyclonis was outraged. "No. No! You- rrahh!" She roared in fury and planted her feet firmly, raising her arms over her head and yelling something unintelligible. The blue-green crystal flared brightly, and streams of iridescent light burst from it and flowed into Cyclonis' hands, down her arms and into her body. She laughed maniacally as the shifting light enveloped her, and shouted, "You've lost, Sky Knight! This crystal's core is pure power! And now it's _mine!_ _Mine! _No one can stop me now!"

Aerrow took a few steps back, emerald eyes wide, watching Master Cyclonis rise into the air to hover a few feet above the ground. It was like their final battle, with Cyclonis channeling the red Far Side crystal's power into herself and Dark Ace, he and Piper watching helplessly... It was not something Aerrow wanted to repeat.

He dove to the side, grabbed his daggers and rolled up onto his feet. Cyclonis cackled again. "Are you going to fight me now, Sky Knight? What good is that going to do? I'm invincible!" she cried, throwing her arms into the air.

Aerrow just set his jaw and gripped his blades tighter. He was the team's last hope. Finn and Junko were down for the count, and the others had no idea what was happening. Aerrow had to stop Master Cyclonis now, or they may never succeed.

"No one is invincible, Cyclonis. Not even you." He pointed one dagger at the empress as he went on, "I'm bringing you in. We can do this the easy way, or we can do it the hard way."

Master Cyclonis rolled her eyes, "You heroes have no imagination." She spread one hand, and her staff picked itself up from the floor and flew into her grasp. Cyclonis floated gently down to stand once more on the stone floor and dropped into a defensive stance. "You want a fight? Fine. Come and taste bitter defeat, Sky Knight."

Aerrow snarled and crouched, then sprang up and flipped over Cyclonis, slashing his blades down over his head and twisting to land on his feet.

She slipped out of the way of his blades and fired a blast of energy from her staff.

Aerrow sprang back out of the way and leaped forward again immediately, tackling Cyclonis and tumbling for a stretch before he pinned her by the shoulders.

She simply chuckled and pressed a hand to his chest, and a green-blue burst of energy blasted him away from her.

Aerrow hit the ground and rolled to his feet. Cyclonis floated back upright, and Aerrow ran to meet her with his blades. She deflected his strikes with her staff each time, retaliating with blows to his shoulders and chest, and they danced back and forth over the stone platform for some time, locked in combat.

The whole room of Cyclonians was either silent and watching the struggle, paralyzed, or unconscious. Junko and Finn had recovered and stood among the Talons unchallenged.

Aerrow and Cyclonis continued on exchanging blows, evenly matched for the most part, but Aerrow was tiring. Cyclonis was not. Aerrow's breathing was growing labored, his steps slower, his motions less fluid. Master Cyclonis was gaining the upper hand.

Within another moment, she slipped in a final strike to the stomach that sent Aerrow tumbling against the blue-green crystal, gasping for breath. He braced a hand against it and rose to his knees.

"I told you, Sky Knight, you can't defeat me." Cyclonis gloated, the colorful aura around her glowing brighter. Aerrow scowled. He pushed himself to his feet, using the big crystal as support. Beneath his fingertips he could feel the raw power swirling in the gem's core, a subtle vibration in the stone that made him feel full of energy.

He glanced at the blue-green rock, then back to Cyclonis. An idea occured to him. If he destroyed the crystal, Master Cyclonis would no longer have a source of power to channel. Right? Hopefully, that's how it worked. A sly smile spread across his features, and Aerrow gripped his daggers tightly and plunged them into the crystal as Cyclonis shrieked, "No! You'll-"

She was cut off mid-shout as the crystal cracked, its seams glowing with bright aqua light, and exploded. A blazing aurora lit the dim room suddenly, flashing shifting shades of blue and green, and shards of sharp-edged crystal were flung in every direction. A wave of energy surged out from the crystal core and slammed back everyone in range. Aerrow was thrown against the stone wall, Cyclonis hit the ceiling and fell, and Finn, Junko, and the Talons were flattened against the floor.

The light swirled and shimmered with a dangerous beauty for another moment, surrounding the remains of the giant blue-green crystal, before it faded into the air. The room was left with a somber feeling of loss, its only illumination now coming from the dim yellow crystals mounted on poles. It suddenly seemed very dark.

Cyclonis, picking herself up from the floor where she'd fallen, snarled, "You reckless imbecile! You could have killed us all!" She tried to charge Aerrow, but her leg buckled and she fell again. She held out her hand and her crystal staff returned to her. Aerrow stood and rolled his sore shoulder, making sure it wasn't damaged from where he'd just struck it against the wall. He stepped across the platform to stand over Master Cyclonis, trapping her staff against the floor with one foot. She hissed and whipped her head up to glare at him murderously.

"I think you're the one tasting bitter defeat, Cyclonis." He told her.

To his bewilderment, she began to laugh softly. She met his gaze with narrowed eyes and replied, "You're mistaken, Sky Knight. I've already finished what I came here to do." Her gaze shifted to Aerrow's right, and he whirled to see what she was looking at. There, in the flesh and evil as ever, stood the Dark Ace.

"Hello, Aerrow. So nice to see you again."


	13. Get Serious

Aerrow gasped, "That's impossible. You're-"

"Dead? Evidently not." Dark Ace cut him off impatiently.

Aerrow shook his head. "I saw you! You were destroyed!"

Dark Ace sighed and rolled his eyes, "Really, Aerrow, I thought you were smarter than that." He crouched, drawing his sword from across his back and activating it. Red flame licked down the length of the blade, and the Dark Ace grinned cruelly. Aerrow gripped his own daggers and dropped into a ready stance, a determined light in his eyes.

"Let's finish this now, Sky Knight. You have been a thorn in my side for long enough." Dark Ace growled.

Aerrow grit his teeth and jumped forward, bringing down both blades to meet Dark Ace's upraised sword. He danced back then and went on the defensive as the Talon commander slashed at him, once at his chest and one backhanded strike at his face.

Aerrow dodged both blows and leaped up, twisting in the air to land behind his enemy and kicking the Dark Ace in the shoulder blades, sending the older man stumbling.

Dark Ace caught himself and whirled around to catch Aerrow's next strike on the hilt of his sword, then retaliated with a swipe to the young Storm Hawk's knees.

Aerrow jumped up to avoid the blade and responded in turn with a jab at Dark Ace's torso. The Talon hopped back out of the way, lowering his sword slightly. "I see you've been practicing." he smirked.

Aerrow gave him a humorless smile. "Maybe you're just getting old."

Dark Ace snarled and charged him again. Their blades locked, and the two duelers struggled to gain the upper hand, shoving each other back to try and throw off the other's balance.

Aerrow could hear Master Cyclonis' amused chuckle echo behind them and anger shot through him, lending him the strength to force Dark Ace away from him and slash across the man's face with one dagger. Dark Ace recoiled with a furious cry, holding one gloved hand to his slashed cheek.

Aerrow didn't take advantage, the fair fighter that he was, and let Dark Ace recover. The Talon was about to leap back into combat, but Cyclonis interrupted them, "Dark Ace. It's time to go. We have a world to overtake."

Dark Ace glanced behind him at her, "But, Master, the boy!" he protested.

Cyclonis scowled. "We will deal with him later. If you haven't managed to defeat him yet, what makes you think you ever will?"

Dark Ace seemed stung by this, but he sheathed his sword obediently and settled for shooting Aerrow a vicious glare. He stalked back to his master's side, and Cyclonis raised her staff.

Aerrow leaped forward with a desperate, "_No!_" but he was too late. The two Cyclonians vanished with a violet flash, and Aerrow grabbed empty air and landed on the ground, on his face. He pushed himself up on his elbows and buried his face in his hands. He'd lost them. Cyclonis- and now the Dark Ace, too- was still at large, and it was his fault.

Aerrow stood and sheathed his daggers, turning to look out over the room.

The Cyclonians had just been standing around watching the action, and now they glanced at each other sheepishly and returned to their duties, ignoring the Storm Hawks. Apparently they didn't want to start another fight. Aerrow could live with that. He beckoned to Junko and Finn, and they followed him back to the iron door. He didn't say a word, and they didn't push him to.

In silence the three teammates mounted the slowly spiraling staircase, this time all the way back up to where their Skimmers were parked, through a hidden door against the wall that they'd missed before. They climbed onto their vehicles, and then Junko spoke, "What do we do now?"

Aerrow sighed and looked down at his handlebars. "I don't know. We have no idea where Cyclonis disappeared to."

They sat in silence for another moment. "Let's head back to the Condor for now. We need to tell the others what happened." Aerrow finally said. The boys nodded in grim agreement, and they fired their engines. Aerrow led the way back through the wide crack in the wall, and a moment later the three Storm Hawks were flying through the open sky.

The cool wind raking through Aerrow's red hair did nothing to improve his mood as it normally would. His brows were drawn together with a mix of anger, worry, and deep thought. He was trying to come up with some way to find Cyclonis, with little success.

Maybe Piper could use some kind of crystal to track Cyclonis' whereabouts, follow her...teleportation trail, or something. Aerrow knew he was just shooting in the dark on this one. He had no idea how to find the Cyclonian empress and her Talon commander aside from searching every terra they came across, and that would take forever. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

Then a resounding boom rang from behind him, and a red ball of energy whizzed by his Skimmer, missing by a matter of feet. "Whoa!" he cried, turning to look over his shoulder.

On the surface, the Cyclonians had cleared a circle around a giant cannon, similar to the one Junko had wanted to install on the new Condor. It was big and red and ribbed with silver supports, just like the rest of the Cyclonian army's equipment. As Aerrow watched, it belched forth a second blazing cannonball that flew over his head.

"They're firing on us!" Aerrow called to Finn and Junko, "Scatter and meet me at the Condor!"

They gave him nods and split off in different directions, Junko to the right, away from the tower, Finn down toward the surface. Aerrow stayed on course in an attempt to draw the fire away from his friends.

It worked. Two more cannonballs were fired in rapid succession, and Aerrow took his Skimmer into a roll to avoid them both. They shot by on both sides, and Aerrow straightened his Skyride's flight when they'd passed.

Another blast spewed into the air, this time with Finn as its target. Aerrow cursed and tried to shout a warning to his friend, but he knew the marksman was too far away to hear him.

All Aerrow could do was watch as the burning projectile struck the wing of Finn's Skimmer and exploded, sending metal parts flying in all directions with black smoke billowing. Aerrow closed his eyes in despair.

When he opened them again, he barely glimpsed the pale-colored parachute floating down from the destruction before it passed out of sight. He breathed a relieved sigh and almost laughed. That had been far too close for his liking. Still, though, Finn was grounded in enemy territory. Aerrow was going to get him out.

He pulled his Skimmer into a roll and dove down toward the surface, a trail of cannonballs following his path mere feet from his bike's tail. He headed for the place he'd seen Finn's parachute drift out of sight, gunning his Skimmer's engine to its limit.

He flew over the area in question once, scanning the ground for Finn, and spotted the blond marksman pulling his parachute into a roll and stashing it where the pale color wouldn't stand out. He smiled slightly to himself, brought his Skimmer around for a second pass, and headed toward the ground.

As he neared, Finn caught sight of him and climbed up onto a jutting rock, waving his arms frantically. Aerrow slowed as he came closer to the rock and took his Skimmer into a roll.

He reached one hand over his head- toward the ground, once he was inverted, and he felt Finn catch it as Aerrow flew overhead. He righted his Skimmer, using the momentum to pull his friend into the seat behind him. "Thanks, man." Finn said.

Aerrow looked over his shoulder, "No problem. You okay?"

Finn nodded and replied with fake confidence, "Ahem, yeah, never better."

Aerrow rolled his eyes. If Finn was acting like that, he was probably just fine. He pulled his Skimmer up away from the surface and once again into the Cyclonian blaster's range. He dodged cannonballs the whole way back to the Condor, now idling in the air some distance from the crumbling tower.

When his Skyride entered the hangar bay and skidded to a halt, the heavy bay doors rumbled closed immediately and he felt the Condor shudder into motion. When he looked around, Aerrow noticed Junko's vehicle already parked and looking unscathed. Looks like the Wallop had gotten back to the ship just fine. Both Aerrow and Finn dismounted and headed for the bridge.

When they reached the door, Aerrow hesitated a second before he stepped forward. Finn didn't notice. The door slid open and the two Storm Hawks entered the bridge.

Aerrow felt a flood of guilt assault him when he was met by his friends' hopeful faces. He'd failed again. Instead of feeling a sense of despair, though, this time Aerrow was filled with determination. They'd come close to catching Cyclonis, very close, but only a few unexpected variables had upset their success. If they could find her a second time, Aerrow was confident that together they could defeat her. He _was _getting sick of messing up, though. He just wanted this whole ordeal over with.

Piper looked over their little group- two people instead of three, Cyclonis being the non-present third. She seemed to deflate and stated the obvious, "You didn't catch her."

Stork looked over his shoulder at them from the helm, "Oh, thank you, Piper, we hadn't noticed."

She shot him a glare, and Stork and turned back to stare forlornly out the front window.

Aerrow set his jaw. "I'm tired of this. It's time to get serious, guys. We're bringing in Cyclonis, and Dark Ace too. Yeah, he's alive," Aerrow added, seeing Stork and Piper's bewildered expressions. "Stork, take us west."

Stork raised a finger, "Why west?"

Aerrow growled, "Do you have any better ideas?"

The Merb slumped in defeat and turned back to the helm, pulling the wheel to his left and gunning the ship's engine.

Piper looked on silently. She wanted to know what had happened down on the surface, but now didn't seem a good time to ask. Aerrow had a fire in his eyes she'd never seen before, and she didn't like it a bit. Even from where she stood, Piper could see his muscles pulled tight as Finn's guitar strings, his gloved hands gripping the railing tightly, his jaw clenched.

Their mission was of the utmost importance, she knew, but it seemed he was taking it a step further.

She was worried.


	14. End in Sight

While Aerrow and the boys had been away, Piper had finished copying the map Hunter had obtained from Adara onto her own paper. She rolled it up and brought it to her room, where she stashed it safely on the highest shelf. The original stayed on the center table on the bridge.

She'd found that there were a total of seventy-six terras existing within Far Side territory, only fifty-one being inhabited. The others were too inhospitable to provide a comfortable environment for people, some frozen, some volcanic, some below the cloud line and dangerously close to the Wastelands.

Adara's map had even included the terra names. They were similar to the names of the Atmosian terras, but a bit more archaic, in Piper's opinion. Terra Dolos; home of the forbidden crystals, Terra Tenebrarum; the Cyclonian terra they were just leaving, Terra Derelinquo; the one that reminded her of Terra Saharr.

There were too many places Master Cyclonis could've disappeared to.

The Storm Hawks couldn't just fly aimlessly all over the place or they'd never find her. But, fortunately, they didn't have to. Piper had a plan.

She was working on building a machine to track Cyclonis. She'd rigged together a compass, a sensor, and a few other pieces from around the ship, and the result was a device that tracked the energy signature of Cyclonis' crystal staff. Every machine with crystals as its power source gave off an energy signature, and the staff's was much stronger than most.

The sensor would pick up the unique signature from miles away, and the compass would point toward the origin of the energy waves, thus leading them straight to Cyclonis. Piper figured that the empress was rarely without her staff, so the method was pretty promising in terms of validity.

Piper was bent over her desk now, tightening the final screws on her gadget before picking it up and straightening.

Aerrow had filled in the team on what had gone on during their mission some time ago. Piper's first reaction to the news Aerrow brought was a feeling of deep disappointment. She'd believed in him, and he'd failed. After the initial despair, though, she'd felt determination take over and resolved to do something herself. Piper had gone straight to her room and taken awhile to think over the problem of finding Cyclonis before getting to work on her invention.

None of her teammates knew about her project yet. Now that it was finished she'd take it to the bridge, show them, and put it to use as soon as possible. She turned away from her desk and stepped out into the corridor.

She turned down the hall, footsteps echoing in the metal space, and weaved through the maze until she reached the door to the bridge. She was about to step up to the door when it slid suddenly open and Junko tumbled out, bouncing across the floor to hit the far wall with an "Oof!".

Piper jerked back to avoid being bowled over, cradling her tracker more securely against herself, and glared through the open bridge door at a sheepish Finn. "What exactly are you guys doing?" she demanded.

Junko picked himself up from the floor next to her and rubbed his head. "We were, um, playing catch?"

Piper turned her glare on him. "Playing catch. With what, the engine?"

Finn shook his head proudly. "Nope. With Radarr." He pointed to Junko, who held up the furry creature for her to see. Radarr's face was a sickly green.

Piper sighed and ordered, "Put him down, he looks like he's going to be sick. Where are Stork and Aerrow?"

"Ah, over here," Stork's voice answered her.

She looked around. "Over where?"

Stork popped up from behind the control board, waving his wrench in greeting. "We're repairing one of the weapons circuits. It disconnected after the last use." His eye twitched as he added, "Wouldn't want to be unprepared for a...mutant moth attack."

"Right. Definitely not. When you're finished, I have something to show you."

Aerrow appeared from behind the control board then, a black smudge of grease across his cheek, and replied, "Actually, we just finished. What is it?"

Piper covered her smile with one hand and moved over to the center table, where Hunter had been perched a bit awkwardly. Now he hopped off, and he and the rest of the team gathered around as she set down her tracking device in the center.

"Um...what is it?" Junko asked.

"It's a tracker." Aerrow realized, a grin spreading across his face. "She built a tracking device. Piper, you're a genius!" He smiled over at her, and Piper blushed slightly.

"I'm not entirely sure it will work how it's supposed to, but..." she shrugged.

Stork was bent over the table, poking at the device. "It looks pretty good to me." He said, straightening. "It's already picking up the signature trail."

"What?" Piper picked it up and peered at the small screen. Stork was right. A violet dot was flashing on the little grid, southwest of their current position. "You're right! We've got Cyclonis!"

Aerrow immediately ordered, "Stork, take the helm. Fly us to Cyclonis!"

Stork didn't need to be told twice. He hurried to the helm and pulled it to one side, the ship slowly following suit, then he fired the engines. Piper moved over to join him at the helm. "According to the tracker, she's now twenty-two miles directly ahead of us."

Stork grunted in acknowledgement and adjusted the ship's position slightly. Aerrow strode past the two of them to the window.

"This time, we're bringing her in for good. No more mistakes, no more mercy." he said.

Piper's brows drew together. No more mercy? What was that supposed to mean?

Aerrow went on, "If we can get her staff away from her, she won't be able to teleport long distances, right?" He looked back over his shoulder at Piper.

Piper nodded, and Aerrow answered, "Good. Then if several of us can corner her without her staff, she'll be helpless." Piper saw a dark smile pull at his lips, and she shivered.

Something wasn't right with Aerrow. Whether it had something to do with the crystal beast or just the pressure of the mission she didn't know, but she had to say something.

She stepped over to stand next to her leader at the window and laid a hesitant hand on his arm. Aerrow looked over questioningly. "Aerrow, I— I think you're taking this mission a little too seriously." she said.

Aerrow stepped back away from her, brows drawn together. "What do you mean? The entire planet is depending on us taking down Cyclonis. How could I not take it seriously?"

"_That's _what I mean! 'Taking down Cyclonis?' We're just supposed to capture her, not destroy her! She may be bad, but Master Cyclonis is still just a teenage girl."

"You know what I meant."

"Do I?"

Aerrow scowled, "I think you're the one taking this too seriously, Piper. Just concentrate on the mission."

Piper closed her eyes and turned away. "I'm just worried, okay? I don't want you to turn out like— like one of them. Taking joy in others' suffering."

Aerrow's expression cleared, and he reached to touch her shoulder. "Piper, I would never..." he trailed off.

She let Aerrow pull her back to face him, and for a moment they just searched each other's eyes. Then Piper said quietly, "I hope not." And she turned from him and returned to the helm.

Everyone on the bridge was staring at the two of them. At a hard look from Aerrow, they quickly pretended to lose interest and returned to whatever they'd been doing.

Stork spoke up with a report, "Eighteen miles."

They were silent for a few minutes. Then, "Fifteen miles." Stork's voice was growing nervous.

Another several minutes passed. "Ten miles."

"Seven miles." The helmsman's voice was wavering excitedly.

"Five...Four...Three," Outside the window, a massive terra was approaching. This one, like Terra Derelinquo, hovered just above the cloud line on anti-gravity pontoons. Unlike the desert terra, however, it was twice the size of any terra the Storm Hawks had ever seen before.

Piper looked over her shoulder. "Hunter, what is this place?"

The former Interceptor bent over Adara's map, "Terra Majorus," he supplied. The name hung in the air, stilling everyone on the bridge.

It sounded final and intimidating, and brought the realization to Piper that their mission ended here. Whether they defeated Master Cyclonis or were defeated themselves, this was the end of the road. The outcome would decide the fate of all the Atmos.

Her gaze drifted to Aerrow of its own accord. The Sky Knight was already looking at her, and when their eyes met she knew he understood the situation as well. He turned to face his team.

"Storm Hawks," he said, and they all knew he included Hunter in the address, "This is where it ends. We either capture Cyclonis and save Atmos, or we fail and the world is left vulnerable. We can't let that happen.

"When we land on that terra," he pointed out he window, "we ride straight to Cyclonis, together, and we hit her with all we've got. I'll need all of you to get the job done. You understand the risks, and what has to be done. Guys, I am proud to call you my team. Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," said Stork. Radarr hopped up onto Aerrow's shoulder and gave him a determined grin. Finn and Junko shouted, "Yeah!" Hunter gave Aerrow a single nod, and Piper set her jaw and nodded.

"Good," Aerrow said, and glanced out the window. They were directly over Terra Majorus, and Stork had idled the ship in the air. Aerrow turned back to face the team,

"Then let's ride."


End file.
